Angle Tree Stone

The Angle Tree site was first marked in 1664 when surveyors actually laid out a boundry line divididng the colonies. The slate stone was made by a father and son grave stone carvers from Wrentham, erected in 1790 and added to the National Historic Register in 1976. The stone replaced the "Angle Tree" of the 1600s which was a surveying landmark between Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colony. In 1640 the Colonies had agreed that a line from Accord Pond in Hingham and Wrentham, Massachusetts, should be the dividing line between the Colonies. It was an extremely important point for at that time Massachusetts Bay extended to the Pacific Ocean. The line was surveyed by Woodward, a mathematician and Saffrey, an unknown, who made many mistakes and were accused of taking too many pulls on their Toddy. The line was often the subject of disputes and not settled until a U.S. Supreme Court decision was handed down two centuries later. The line is still recognized as the boundary between Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. JJM