History of Sherborn, Massachusetts

Colonial and Revolutionary Eras – 1700 to 1800

Table of Contents

Early MapsFarms and MillsHousesMemorable MortalityFrench and Indian WarTown JobsTown Pound The Revolutionary War21 Mile StoneSchools

Borders of Sherborn in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Borders of Sherborn in the 19th Compared to Today

Farms and Mills

Throughout the 1600s, 1700s, and even into the 1800s, Sherborn remained a small and relatively self-sufficient farming community.

Farms and Mills

Throughout the 1600s, 1700s, and even into the 1800s, few industries developed in Sherborn because of the lack of good water power to run them. There were small sawmills and gristmills on several of the narrow streams. Apples grew well in Sherborn, and people loved to drink cider, so there were always small cider mills in town.

Holbrook Grist Mill and Cider Press, Forest Street Leland Mill, Mill Street

Sherborn’s Colonial Houses

Because the town was relatively poor in the late 1800s and early 1900s few people "modernized" their old houses by tearing them down and rebuilding. As a result many of the houses built in 1700s and early 1800s remain, as well as six or more with late 1600s parts. Two National Register Historic Districts have been established to include the old Town Center and a two-mile strip along North Main Street. Throughout the rest of the town, many other old houses still stand today.

Sherborn’s Colonial Houses

Asa Sanger House 1674? 1775? (70 Washington Street)

Deacon William Leland House 1717 (27 Hollis Street)

Morse House 1710 (210 Farm Road)

Woodland Farm Leland House 1760 (104 Woodland St.)

Sherborn’s Colonial Houses

Addington Gardner House 1730 (128 Hollis Street)

Ware’s Tavern 1780 (113 South Main St.)

Holbrook House -- Front Section 1745 (69 Forest Street)

Sewall Ware House early 1700s (100 S. Main St.)

Sherborn’s Colonial Houses

Joseph Twitchell House 1690? 1710? (32 Pleasant St.)

Morse-Tay-Leland-Hawes House 1700 (266 Western Ave.)

Leland-Hooker House 1760 (no longer standing, on site of 13 Mill St.)

Richard Sanger III House 1734 (60 Washington St.)

Changes Over Time

This the colonial era house, located at 52 Brush Hill Road, has changed a lot since it was

built in 1680. It has been called many different names, also:

Hiram Bullard HouseCozzens Fay House

Sawin-Bullen-Bullard House Bullen-Stratton-Cozzen House

Interesting Town JobsSeveral of the old positions not found in town government today come from the earliest days of the town, when farming was the major occupation.

Three fence viewers were first appointed by the Selectmen in 1680. Their job was to settle disagreements over property boundaries.

The field driver’s job was to round up stray cattle and other livestock. The animals were put into the Town Pound, which still stands today on South Main Street.

Town Pound In the early days of Sherborn, cattle and horses grazed on common land, and swine (pigs) and other farm animals often ranged freely about town. Cattle were also brought from other towns to graze in Sherborn. If livestock got lost, they could put in the Town Pound until their owners claimed them. A fine or tax needed to be paid when the animals were removed from the pound.

Sherborn's first two Town Pounds were built in 1694 and 1741. Both were located on the “Plain,” near the current Pine Hill Cemetery gate. They were probably built of logs, laid together in log-house style. The 'Widder Mary West' was the first person in town chosen to take care of the pound.

Another Town Pound was built in 1775 of stone and located on the green near the meeting house, where the Unitarian Church stands today. This pound was not satisfactory because it was too close to the church. These three pounds no longer exist.

Town Pound

The only remaining Town Pound was built of stone in 1770 by Captain Sanger. This pound still stands today on South Main Street, as shown in the lower picture.

The 21 Mile Stone

The first United States Postmaster General was Benjamin Franklin. He had these stones set out along the routes of the stagecoaches that carried the mail. The cost of postage was determined by the distance a letter or package was carried, and the stones made it easy to see how much to charge. Sherborn's 21 Mile Stone is located on North Main Street, across from the entrance to the Plain Cemetery, near Rockwood Street. This stone displays how many miles (21) the coach had to travel over the rutted, dirt roads to reach Boston.

Schools in Sherborn

In the late 17th century, after the town’s founding in 1674, the children of Sherborn were taught in private homes. The parents of the children paid, not the town. Obadiah Morse was the first teacher in Sherborn. He was also the first Town Clerk. In 1694, Edward West, who was Town Clerk by then, was the next schoolmaster. His gravestone is shown at right.

Until 1709, the school had been open less than three months each year. But in 1709, the Town voted to have school open for three months and in private houses in three different parts of the town: a month on the Plain, near North Main and Coolidge Streets; in South Sherborn near the Charles River; and in Dirty Meadow, near Greenwood and Washington Streets. In 1712, two more locations were added, as well as two more months of school.

Since 1709, the town has paid school costs by asking townspeople to pay taxes.

Schools in Sherborn

The town voted to build the first public schoolhouse in 1727. The building was supposed to be 18 feet long and 20 feet wide, which is a lot smaller than a Pine Hill School classroom. The schoolhouse was located next to the Meetinghouse, where the Unitarian Church stands today. This building was used until 1770. Until 1761, the school was open only during the winter and was taught by a man teacher. In 1761, the town voted to pay a woman to teach the smaller children, as well.

Reading, writing and cyphering, or simple math, was taught. The General Court of the Colony (the Legislature) also specified that other subjects be taught, such as Latin, Greek, and history.

Schools in Sherborn

Throughout the rest of the 18th and into the 19th centuries, there were as many as seven small schoolhouses throughout the town.