Arlington-Cambridge 7 WM - Middlesex County, MA - U.S. Historic Survey Stones and Monuments on Waymarking.com

At the boundary between Arlington and Cambridge is this witness mark located next to the Minuteman Rail Trail.

To get to the mark, from the Alewife MBTA Red Line Subway Station, go west to the MBTA Alewife Access Road, then turn north and follow the Minuteman Rail Trail. The mark is on the right, about 100 ft south of the MA Route 2 highway overpass, and near a bridge over Alewife Brook.

The mark is located to the northeast of the trail, set about 10 ft from the asphalt trail, in bushes, and near Alewife Brook. Inlaid in the asphalt is stone with a dot-dash line engraved in it and the word "Cambridge" on the south side and "Arlington" on the north side.

The marker is about 4 ft high and is about 10 inches square and roughly hewn. On one side is the "C" with an arrow below and "10 ft," while on the other side is "A."

The Historic Atlas (link on the MassDOT Geodetic Control Web Site-Town Corners tab) for this area has a map and description for this mark, which has the same identifcation name. The drawing shows the marker in about the right place.

The description is as follows:

"ARLINGTON-CAMBRIDGE 7 abd W.M.

LOCATION. - The corner is an unmarked point in the channel of Alewife Brook, north 59 degrees 57 minutes west and 10 feet distant from the witness mark standing 5 feet east of the easterly band of the brook, on a strip of cultivated land lying between the brook and a pond hole a shirt distance east, at a point 300 feet north of the intersection of the Central Massachusetts Division of the Boston and Maine railraod with the old Lexington and West Cambridge railroad.

MARK. - The corner mark is a granite monument 3.8 feet in height and 10 x 10 inches in section. The letter A is cut on the northeast face, and C -> 10 Ft on the south face."

Both railroad lines mentioned no longer exist and have been torn up. As mentioned before, one is now the Minuteman Rail Trail. A portion of the other may now be the starting point of the Red Line subway. Based on the description, the monument standing could be the one described in the atlas. The year entered is the year the atlas was published, which marks the most recent year the monument could have been placed.

Monumentation Type: Stone post Monument Category: County/Municipal boundary marker Accessible to general public: yes Historical significance: Marks the boundary between two old cities of Massachusetts, Arlington, and Cambridge. Monument Website: [Web Link] County: Middlesex USGS Quad: Boston North Approximate date of monument: 01/01/1903 Monumentation Type (if other): Not listed Monument Category (if other): Not listed Explain Non-Public access: Not listed NGS PID: Not listed Other Coordinates: Not Listed Other Coordinates details: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
1. A closeup photo of the monument is required.
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2. A 'distant' photo including the monument in the view is highly recommended. Include the compass direction you faced when you took the picture.

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