Sudbury is exploring whether it should become the next Massachusetts town to remove signs commemorating the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and if there’s a better way to present the complicated history.
What to do with the tercentenary markers has long been a topic of discussion in Sudbury. The conversation has ratcheted up over the past few months after three signs came down in neighboring Concord in late January.
In 1930, the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission distributed 275 cast-iron markers to 95 cities and towns across the Commonwealth to recognize the 300th anniversary of the original colony’s founding.
As time has gone on, many signs have been lost or fallen into a state of disrepair. The markers have also become a talking point as communities grapple with whether they convey an accurate history or fall short.
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Michael Wallace, tasked with leading discussion on the issue for the Historical Commission, moved to affluent Sudbury, a Greater Boston suburb of roughly 19,000 people, in July 2023 and joined the Commission last November. The conversation around the historical markers predates his time in town, he said.
Sudbury, incorporated in 1639 with a population of 476, is one of the oldest towns in New England, according to its town website.
Wallace told the Herald that it’s “Impossible to say” how far away the town is from seeing its five markers come down if it takes that route.
“The goal is to build consensus,” Wallace told the Herald in a phone interview on Friday. “This is about our town’s history and its public history. It’s the history that we tell about ourselves.”
“It’s good to reach a position where everyone feels good about that,” he added. “100% of the people can’t feel 100% happy, but to arrive at some place where there is a consensus that what we are doing is reflective of our town and our history.”
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The Sudbury Clergy Association, in a letter in January 2022 to the town’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, said it was “concerned about the representation of First Peoples (Indigenous People) in public markers.”
Three of the signs, clergy members wrote, “suggest, without providing any context, that during the so-called King Philip’s War, colonial settlers were defending their land from attacks by First Peoples.”
The conflict, known as the Sudbury Fight, was fought in town in 1676 and could be looked at differently than in 1930, clergy members added.
“Since First Peoples resided on this land for thousands of years before colonial settlers arrived, in the broader context,” the letter states, “they can be understood to have been defending their ancestral land from invasion by colonial settlers.”
Wallace said a tercentenary marker that commemorates the establishment of the original Sudbury plantation is “controversial in the sense that it’s only speaking about the Puritans … It doesn’t reference the fact that there’s a Native American population that was here long before any white settlers.”
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The state Department of Transportation notified the Historical Commission in the spring of 2023 that it planned to “remove, restore and reset the Sudbury Fight” marker on Route 20. Members responded with a letter requesting the sign not be put back up.
The controversial marker was reinstated because MassDOT only has a say in repairing and maintaining the signs and not removing them permanently.
A local nonprofit, Athina Education, held a forum in April 2023 on the markers, which included Nipmuc citizen Andre Strongbearheart Gaines Jr. as a panelist. He said the signs are one-sided, highlighting how none of them convey that after King Philip was killed, his skull was placed on a rod for over 20 years.
“We’re talking about taking signs down, this is what I’m thinking about,” Gaines said. “How do you think our people felt walking by that skull every day? It’s the same thing with these signs.”
“They’re grim reminders of the assimilation, the colonization … the brutality that was set forth in law,” he added. “Why is it so hard to understand that these signs are signs of brutality?”
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Critics have also taken exception to the signs carrying a depiction of the Massachusetts state seal originally adopted in 1898. It features a disembodied arm of Plymouth colony military adviser Myles Standish holding a sword over the head of a Native American figure in a peaceful stance.
A state commission tasked with rethinking the seal and motto disbanded without any specific recommendations after two years of work.
Concord officials removed their three tercentenary markers in late January after their Historical and DEI Commissions argued the signs had harmed Indigenous people and didn’t accurately reflect what happened when settlers founded the town in 1635.
State highway crews restored 21 historic markers found in 10 cities and towns, all in central or western Massachusetts, in 2019. At the time, the agency recovered roughly 174 of the original 275 signs.
One sign in the Cape Ann town of Gloucester, on the North Shore, was unveiled in July after it received a fresh restoration. It had “rusted and disintegrated almost beyond repair,” officials said in an advertisement for the event.
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Gloucester’s three other signs are also being restored at an individual cost of $3,250 in state Community Preservation Act funds. A document outlining the project indicates a local historian provided “more accurate language” for the markers.
“Scattered across the state, these markers punctuate the land with an array of familiar myths,” the document states. “Seen in this light, the restoration of the Tercentenary Commission markers to their original condition is an opportunity for a reexamination of how we interpret and communicate public memory and how we can make our heritage more inclusive.”
In Sudbury, the Historical Commission is set to meet with the Historic Districts Commission in late October to discuss recommendations that will be made to the Select Board, which has the final say on the markers’ fate, Wallace said.
“Whether you think they are discriminatory or not, they were erected in the 1930s in a particular context of slower automobiles and slower roads,” he said. “Around the state a lot of these signs are missing, many are in bad condition. … These aren’t things really engaging to the public anymore, so it’s exciting to think about what we can do that’s better.”
A sign for the Portion of the Goodenow Garrison House in which the settlers took refuge from King Philip’s Indians during the battle of April 18-21, 1676. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)A sign for the Haynes Garrison House the home of Deacon John Haynes. Here the settlers by their brave defense saved the town when King Philip and his Indian warriors attacked Sudbury in April, 1676. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) denied voters the ability to support a popular tax cut this November, it was more than a temporary loss for residents of one of America’s most overtaxed states. Barely a generation removed from its “Taxachusetts” moniker, the Commonwealth’s competitiveness suffered a setback with long-lasting implications.
That is why even if this battle is over, the broader fight must go on.
Recent polling from the Mass Opportunity Alliance (MOA), a nonprofit advocating for state competitiveness, found that 82% of voters supported lowering the state income tax rate from 5% to 4%. Even a poll from the Boston Globe/Suffolk University released days before the SJC decision showed 66% supporting the tax cut.
Terrified by the threat to the status quo, entrenched special interests spearheaded a legal challenge not based on the merits of the tax cut or fiscal policy whatsoever. The issue was a technicality in summary of the question written by the Attorney General. As a retired SJC justice explained, “neither logic nor law” supported removing the tax cut from the ballot.
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The Court’s ruling does not change the underlying issue. The same Suffolk survey showed a majority (54%) of respondents had considered leaving the state in the last year. Nearly six in ten cited taxes and high cost of living.
This trend is well underway. Following the Commonwealth’s last tax hike in 2022, roughly 30,000 more people exited Massachusetts than arrived the following year — one of the country’s highest population exoduses. The outflow took $4.2 billion dollars’ worth of taxable income with them.
It’s no mystery as to why we’re losing residents. Survey research from MOA showed high taxes were a key driver. Not coincidentally, the top two states welcoming Massachusetts expatriates, Florida and New Hampshire, both have no income tax.
By contrast, Massachusetts has the second highest effective tax rate in the country. The Commonwealth is ranked in the bottom 10 for competitiveness.
The impact of this tax burden extends far and wide. Businesses are choosing to leave or relocate elsewhere. Iconic brands like Cape Cod Potato Chips have had enough, announcing the closing of their Hyannis facility earlier this year. Even international soccer players are not safe, learning that 90 minutes of participation in this year’s World Cup can subject them to crushing Beacon Hill tax policies.
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Massachusetts is not alone in the blue state exodus. Frustrated by high taxes, endless regulation and overall unaffordability, families and businesses are fleeing California, Illinois and New York for friendlier terrain.
What are the consequences of fewer residents? For starters, less people to tax. Smaller tax bases means less resources for schools, roads and public safety – investments that tax hike advocates typically claim to care about.
Smaller populations also mean less national influence. In 2010, the congressional delegation shrank from 10 to 9 members, and only narrowly avoided losing another member in 2020. It’s anyone’s guess what the end of this decade will bring, but current trends are not encouraging.
So what’s next?
Fortunately, a second common sense tax proposal remains on track for the ballot this fall. By reforming the state tax revenue limit, the initiative would put the brakes on spendthrift politicians and return money to the taxpayers who earned it.
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To be clear, the court’s ruling does not excuse the role of the legislators. Their constituents were denied the right to make their voices heard. As their elected representatives, members of the Massachusetts legislature should be fighting for families struggling with high taxes and some of the highest costs in the nation.
“Affordability” cannot just be a political buzz word; it must be a governing principle.
Two hundred fifty years ago, Massachusetts started a revolution against an oppressive government that led to the founding of our nation. That spirit lives on today, and so does the need for change. That starts by continuing the fight for common sense tax relief by every available avenue to keep the Commonwealth competitive for the next 250 years and beyond.
Colin Reed is a senior advisor to the Mass Opportunity Alliance
BOSTON (WHDH) – Just over one week after Massachusetts lawmakers announced a new, statewide initiative to combat wrong-way driving and improve roadway safety, law enforcement responded to another deadly wrong-way crash in Northboro Wednesday night.
With all of the recent tragedies, including the death of Massachusetts State Police trooper Kevin Trainor in Lynnfield last month, officials said they have pinpointed 100 locations to put on the priority list to make important safety changes as quickly as possible.
The $75-million detection and prevention program includes advanced detection technology, enhanced roadway signage, infrastructure improvements, and targeted safety upgrades across Massachusetts.
“They’ve been demonstrated to work in other places where they’ve been implemented, and even in Massachusetts the ones that are already in place, there is plenty of documented evidence showing people realizing they’re going the wrong way when those systems are activated,” said Mark Schieldrop of Triple A.
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In Barnstable, those changes have already been implemented along Route 6. State Representative Steven Xiarhos said the area can be tricky to navigate.
“Lots of moving parts, a college right down the road, and someone could make the wrong move when they’re confused, and that’s one of those interactions that could be confusing,” Xiarhos said.
Schieldrop said there are many reasons for wrong-way driving, but one stands out above the rest.
“When we look at the typical wrong-way driver who’s causing these crashes, by and large alcohol impairment is a factor in the vast majority of them,” Schieldrop said.
Xiarhos said the prorgam is worth every penny if it will save lives.
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“It’s frustrating when a horrible thing happens, you can’t turn back the clock,” he said. “So as an elected offical now, as a former police officer, let’s do everything we can to prevent this.”
The safety installations around the state will continue into 2027.
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