Central Turnpike (Massachusetts)

Last updated March 18, 2019

The Central Turnpike was a private toll road in Massachusetts that was chartered by the Massachusetts State Legislature on June 12, 1824.^[1] The route began in Wellesley (at the time known as West Needham), heading west to Dudley, where it continued into Connecticut as the Center Turnpike.

In the late 18th century and early 19th century, turnpikes, as opposed to ordinary roads of the same time, were roads where gates barred travelers from continuing and at which payments were demanded for the use of the road. The word "turnpike" itself comes from the fact that these gates, called "pikes," were "turned" once the toll was paid. The privilege of building and operating turnpikes was conferred by the state legislature to "turnpike corporations". Turnpikes were constructed using private capital, were privately owned, and were operated for revenue from toll collection. The turnpike era in Massachusetts began in 1796, when the first act of incorporation for a turnpike was passed. By 1850, most turnpike corporations had either been dissolved or had stopped collecting tolls. In all, 118 acts of incorporation were passed. Typical toll rates were twenty-five cents for every coach with additional charges of four cents for every man and horse.

Massachusetts, officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named after the Massachusett tribe, which once inhabited the east side of the area, and is one of the original thirteen states. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. Over 80% of Massachusetts's population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.

Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census. In 2008, Wellesley had the 3rd highest median household and family incomes in all of Massachusetts. In 2018, data from the American Community Survey revealed that Wellesley was the 7th wealthiest city in the United States. It is best known as the home of Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of Massachusetts Bay Community College.

The corporation was headed by Samuel Slater, Joseph Valentine, and John J. Clark. It was not completed until 1830, and was in revenue service for less than six years as a whole. In January 1836, the corporation ceded the entirety of its length in Middlesex County to the state, and made the remainder toll-free by 1839 when the corporation dissolved. The Connecticut portion of the turnpike, run as a separate corporation chartered in Connecticut, continued in service until 1853.^[2]

Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the UK, he was called "Slater the Traitor" because he brought British textile technology to America, modifying it for United States use. He memorized the designs of textile factory machinery as an apprentice to a pioneer in the British industry before migrating to the United States at the age of 21. He designed the first textile mills in the US and later went into business for himself, developing a family business with his sons. A wealthy man, he eventually owned thirteen spinning mills and had developed tenant farms and company towns around his textile mills, such as Slatersville, Rhode Island.

Middlesex County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of 2016, the estimated population was 1,589,774, making it the twenty-first most populous county in the United States, and the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England. As part of the 2010 national census, the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick at. Middlesex County is included in the Census Bureau’s Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Today, the route is still mostly in use as various public roads, only a short unimproved section between Northbridge and Upton is not in use today.

Northbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,707 at the 2010 census. The Northbridge Town Hall is located at 7 Main Street in Whitinsville. The town is now a part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, of the National Park Service. Northbridge claims to history include: Native American Nipmuc lands, Colonel John Spring, who led the Uxbridge militia training company in the American Revolution, Samuel Spring, Revolutionary War Chaplain, the Residence of Ezra T. Benson 1830-1832, the birthplace of President Millard Fillmore's mother, Phoebe, and home to the Whitin Machine Works from 1831 to 1964

Upton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It was first settled in 1728. The population was 7,542 at the 2010 census, with over 2,100 households.

Route today

The Central Turnpike route begins in Wellesley, as the modern-day Central Street (Route 135) westbound, from its intersection with Grove Street and Washington Street (modern Route 16). This is how the historical route connected with the Worcester Turnpike (modern Route 9) as its charter stated. It follows Route 135 through Natick, Framingham, Ashland, and Hopkinton. In Hopkinton, it leaves the Route 135 alignment, and continues as West Main Street to the Upton town line. In Upton, it continues as Hopkinton Road, High Street, Hartford Avenue north, is briefly concurrent with Main Street (Route 140) across a multi-road intersection, to Hartford Ave south. The modern alignment then ends where the modern Clubhouse Lane continues, and an unimproved section of the original road continues to the Northbridge town line.

Route 135 is a state highway in eastern Massachusetts, running from U.S. Route 20 in Northborough east to Interstate 95 in Dedham. The first 13 miles (21 km) of the Boston Marathon, from Hopkinton to Wellesley, follow Route 135.

Route 16 is an east–west state highway in Massachusetts. It begins in the west at an intersection with Route 12 and Route 193 in Webster, just north of the Connecticut state border. It runs in a generally southwest-northeast routing through a number of Boston's suburbs and runs to the west and then north of the city before ending in Revere at an intersection with Route 1A and Route 60.

Route 9 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20, Route 2, and Interstate 90, Route 9 is one of the major east–west routes of Massachusetts, and like the others its eastern terminus is in Boston. Starting at Copley Square and passing along Huntington Avenue, Route 9 is a limited access route through the MetroWest suburbs to Worcester, and is also a major alternative to the Pike's toll road west of the city. After passing along major city streets in that city, the road becomes a country route, passing through the central Worcester Hills, the Pioneer Valley, and the city of Northampton, and into The Berkshires. The road ends near the center of the city of Pittsfield.

Continuing in Northbridge as the unimproved road, it returns to public roads as Upton St. Crossing Route 122, it becomes Sutton Street. Through Sutton it is named Central Turnpike for its entire length. In Oxford, it is modern Sutton Avenue briefly, past the intersection with Douglas Road (historical Douglas Pike), to Joe Jenny Road until the Webster border. In Webster, it is Sutton Avenue until it reaches Gore Road (modern Route 16). It is concurrent with Route 16 west until its terminus less than a mile away, where it continues through Webster as Route 12 south to Dudley. The route continues as Route 197 south shortly after entering the town, until the Connecticut border.

Route 122 is a southeast-northwest state highway in Massachusetts that is a continuation of Rhode Island Route 122. The highway is signed as south–north.

Sutton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,963 at the 2010 census.

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References

↑ Temple, Josiah H. (1887). History of Framingham, Massachusetts: Early Known as Danforth's Farms, 1640-1880; with a Genealogical Register. [Framingham]: Town of Framingham. OCLC 15296892 – via Google Play.
↑ Wood, Frederic J. (1919). The Turnpikes of New England and Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland. Boston: Marshall Jones. OCLC 1600049 – via Google Play.

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[1] Temple, Josiah H. (1887). History of Framingham, Massachusetts: Early Known as Danforth's Farms, 1640-1880; with a Genealogical Register. [Framingham]: Town of Framingham. OCLC 15296892 – via Google Play.

[2] Wood, Frederic J. (1919). The Turnpikes of New England and Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland. Boston: Marshall Jones. OCLC 1600049 – via Google Play.