{"nrhp_refnum":"85003301","name":"Milestone","other_names":[],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Harvard St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brookline","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.339983268000026,"lon":-71.12089812599999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A stone milestone dated 1729, located on Harvard Street near number 210 in Brookline, Massachusetts, in front of United Parish Church. It is owned by the Town of Brookline.","why_significant":"It is one of two known milestones in Brookline and marks an early land route from Cambridge to Boston, passing through Brookline Village and over Roxbury Neck before the milldam road existed. It was placed by Paul Dudley, a naturalist and justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The form states it meets criterion A for its link to early transportation.","narrative":"A small stone milestone on Harvard Street in Brookline carries the inscription \"Boston / 5 Miles / 1729 / P.D.\" It sits on a landscaped plot in front of United Parish Church, about 150 feet from the corner of Harvard and Marion Streets. Paul Dudley, a naturalist and justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, placed it as one of a series marking the route from Boston to Cambridge. At that time the road ran through Brookline Village and over Roxbury Neck, because the milldam and its road had not yet been built. The stone has been moved several times. At one point it served as a doorstop at the second Charles Stearns house, built about 1825, and it was later set at a nearby street corner before reaching its present site. It was once stolen and returned. It is one of only two known milestones in town, the other dating from 1810, and it documents early overland travel toward Boston.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Placed by Paul Dudley","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Condition fair; moved in 1825 and again around 1889; possibly endangered by theft, vandalism and traffic emissions. It was stolen once but returned.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.139947-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7927/63792712/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/85003301.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63792712","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/milestone-85003301/"}