The Boston Stone and Marshall Street (Boston, Massachusetts)

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Along the Freedom Trail, on historic Marshall Street and embedded in the side of a building is the Boston Stone. The mill-stone was orginally used for grinding substances that became pigments in paint. The stone was imported from England in 1700 by painter Tom Childs. The previous paint mill building at this location was torn down or destoryed, and the mill-stone was then found and embedded in the current structure. The stone is hollow, and about two feet in diameter. The inscription at the base reads "Boston Stone, 1737." For many years the stone was used as a starting point for surveyors, making it famous. It is suggested the name was taking from the ancient "London Stone," used by the Romans as a central point for many roads. bostonhistory.typepad.com/notes_on_the_urban_condit/200...