{"nrhp_refnum":"74000362","name":"Old Bay Road","other_names":["The Post Road","The King's Highway"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"From Easton Town Line to Taunton Town Line","address_restricted":false,"city":"Norton","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.981861500000036,"lon":-71.12824540853654,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Transportation","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 2-mile section of Old Bay Road in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, running from the Easton town line to the Taunton town line. It follows an old trail later used as a post and carriage road, and is owned by the Town of Norton.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Old Bay Road is one of the oldest roads in New England still in its original location. It follows an Indian trail later used by colonists, lies within the original 1640 Taunton purchase, and was used by Revolutionary troops in 1775. It also retains two original milestones dated 1773 and 1782.","narrative":"This two-mile stretch of Old Bay Road in Norton, Massachusetts, runs from the Easton town line to the Taunton town line and continues a section in Easton that was already listed. The road is about a rod and a half wide, with a tar surface, gentle curves and stone walls along parts of its length. It follows Mulberry Meadow Brook and skirts the eastern shore of Winnecunnet Pond. Eighteenth-century maps show it in its present location, which is why it is described as one of the oldest roads in New England still in its original place. It began as an Indian trail and became a path to the Bay Colony around Boston, then a pack horse route, post road and stage road. It lies within the 1640 Taunton purchase. Two original milestones, dated 1773 and 1782, survive, and Minute Men marched along it in 1775. Two early cemeteries, one the oldest in Norton, overlook the pond.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as good and unaltered, on its original site. It is a paved road with a tar surface and no curbs or sidewalks, in public ownership and use for transportation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.048938-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/78/7943/63794378/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/74000362.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794378","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bay_Road","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083441"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/old-bay-road-74000362/"}