Day 14 & 15: More Fun in Marlborough

For the next two days I'm walking four miles on my journey, passing through the western part of Marlborough and on into the next town along US-20, Northborough.

Marlboro House of Pizza to Britney's Cafe in Northborough

The road is bit straighter leaving town, especially once I cross over I-495. As you might expect, there are quite a few hotels in this vicinity, as well as other businesses travelers like to see at interstate exits. What they might miss at that exit, however, is Williams Lake, a natural lake that was the site of settlement in the seventeenth century, not long after the town of Marlborough was first settled.

Something else travelers might miss near Williams Lake is an unobtrusive historical marker in front of what is now a small strip mall housing a popular sandwich shop, DeAngelo's Grilled Sandwiches. Once it was the location of the oldest operating tavern in the country, Williams' Tavern. Below is a slide (#19) from "The Old Homesteads of Marlborough," detailing the historical significance of this site.

Here is a photo of the marker; it's not in good shape, but it's been there since 1930.

from Waymarking.com

According to Wikipedia, Northborough was originally settled by Nipmuc people, then was part of a resettlement of the Sudbury Plantation in 1656. In 1766 it was established as part of Westborough; it was incorporated as its own town in 1775, just in time for the Revolution. Northborough is a small town--only about 6,000 people resided there in 2010 (according to City Data). The median annual household income was around $97,000 in 2016 and the population was about 93% white. Two well-known people are associated with the town: Mark Fidrych  of the Detroit Tigers was born there, and Daniel Wesson of Smith and Wesson fame started his career there as an apprentice to his brother Edwin.

I'm looking forward to seeing what historical sites there are in the downtown area, coming up next! Meanwhile, I think I'll tarry a while at Britney's Cafe, at 291 Main Street in Northborough.