Replica of the Mammoth Cheese - Cheshire, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 33.727 W 073° 09.415
18T E 651291 N 4713836
The Replica of the Mammoth Cheese given by the Town Cheshire to President Thomas Jefferson is located at the intersection of Main, Church and Railroad Streets by the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Cheshire, MA.
Waymark Code: WM16P7Y
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/08/2022
Views: 0
Replica of the Mammoth Cheese is a sculpture created by Brent Whitney and dedicated on June 21, 2021. The front of the sculpture is inscribed:
CHESHIRE'S
MAMMOTH
CHEESE
1235 lbs
Presented to
President Thomas Jefferson
January 1, 1802
The back, the wheel is inscribed:
"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
The cheese has a serious purpose. It was a gift from Baptist minister Elder John Leland and the people of Cheshire who supported Jefferson for President over Massachusetts' native son John Adams over issues of religious freedom. Cheshire was the only town in Berkshire County to vote for Jefferson.
Leland was a vocal advocate for religious freedom. "The notion of a Christian commonwealth should be exploded forever...Government should protect every man in thinking and speaking freely, and see that one does not abuse another. The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence, whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians." - John Leland from A Chronicle of His Time in Virginia.