Trying to Navigate the Middle of the Road
Living in Massachusetts I am surrounded by history. A lot of it is well known, and some of it not so well known. Everyone knows about the Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, Lexington and Concord, and the 2004 Red Sox beating the Yankees after being down 3 games to 0. But not many people know about King Philip’s War. This was back in the late 1600’s.
Have you ever thought about where the name of the street you live on came from? I’m not talking about the easy ones like Elm, Maple and Main, but some of the others not so much.
So the other day I was driving down Main Street here in “Honest Town” admiring the beautiful architecture and thinking what a place this must have been back in the 1890’s and early 1900’s. Just like many other towns in New England you will see names and building dates on these buildings. Then a sobering thought struck me.
When you travel around New England, through any of the old mill towns, sooner or later will you not only pass an old mill but probably the remnants of an old mill pond as well. The mills are easy to spot, the mill ponds not so much.
