Park Street, U.S. Route 20 - Westfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 06.346 W 072° 37.223
18T E 696753 N 4664259
An early 19th century milestone is locateD in front of the Cowing School at 160 Park Street, West Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WMRQB0
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 07/23/2016
Views: 2
The Eighth Massachusetts Turnpike went from Becket to Russell in western Massachusetts. Upon reaching Westfield, MA the turnpike ends and the route east to Boston follows present day Route 20 to the ferry crossing across the Connecticut River. A milestone which had long since baffled town officials is located along this route a short distance west of the Connecticut River. The mystery was solved when it was realized that the inscription on the brownstone milestone had been misinterpreted for many years. The inscription was thought to read 11 miles to Springfield. But, this is impossible since 11 miles would put it beyond Springfield's boundaries.
The mystery was solved when it was compare to a similar milestone about 7 miles west in Westfield which carried the inscription IX miles to Springfield Courthouse, in Roman numerals instead of the more usual Arabic numbers. Now, what was thought to be an 11 was really was the Roman numeral II and the distance made sense.
The milestone is protected by a concrete frame which protected it from an automobile accident in 2015. It has since been restored to its original condition with Community Preservation Funds. In front of the milestone is a bronze plaque indication it was preserved by the West Springfield Bi-centennial Committee.