Massachusetts Historical Markers
Nearly a century after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts placed hundreds of cast-iron markers to commemorate the 1630 arrival of the Winthrop Fleet, the state’s transportation department has located 174 of the original 275 installations, Wikipedia reported.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission placed the markers around 1930 to mark the 300th anniversary of the colony, which had been chartered in 1629, according to Wikipedia. Harvard University historian and professor Samuel Eliot Morison served as the official advisor to the commission, overseeing an effort that placed two-faced, aluminum-gray signs as far north as Amesbury, west to Deerfield and Greenfield, east to Rockport and south to Quincy, Wikipedia reported.
Historical markers featured cast iron and black lettering
The historical markers were cast in iron featuring raised lettering and borders in black against an aluminum-gray background, with the state seal rendered in bas-relief, Wikipedia reported. Planners originally announced plans for approximately 250 markers, but records show the total reached 275.
A news report from August 2019 said that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation had successfully located 174 of those original installations, according to The Recorder. The Pioneer Valley markers received a physical facelift that year, Wikipedia reported.
Modern Historical Criticism
Nearly a hundred years after their erection, the content of the markers has drawn criticism for the practice of “firsting,” which the practice by which local histories claim indigenous places as sites of European beginnings while relegating Native people to a vanished past, Wikipedia reported. Stephanie Seed examined this critique in The Boston Globe on November 7, 2026, writing, “Always read the plaque. Then ask who wrote it.”
Questions about the Tercentenary Commission and markers
Who advised the Tercentenary Commission?
Samuel Eliot Morison, a historian and professor at Harvard University, served as the official advisor to the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission, Wikipedia reported.
How many original markers did MassDOT locate?
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation located 174 of the original 275 markers, according to a 2019 report cited by Wikipedia.
What colors and materials were used for the signs?
The markers were made of cast iron, featuring raised lettering and borders in black against an aluminum-gray background along with the state seal in bas-relief, Wikipedia reported.
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