Central Turnpike (Massachusetts)

Map of the 19th century turnpikes
in Massachusetts

The Central Turnpike was a private toll road in Massachusetts that was chartered by the Massachusetts State Legislature on June 12, 1824.[1] The route began in Wellesley (at the time known as West Needham), heading west to Dudley, where it continued into Connecticut as the Center Turnpike.

The corporation was headed by Samuel Slater, Joseph Valentine, and John J. Clark. It was not completed until 1830, and was in revenue service for less than six years as a whole. In January 1836, the corporation ceded the entirety of its length in Middlesex County to the state, and made the remainder toll-free by 1839 when the corporation dissolved. The Connecticut portion of the turnpike, run as a separate corporation chartered in Connecticut, continued in service until 1853.[2]

Today, the route is still mostly in use as various public roads, only a short unimproved section between Northbridge and Upton is not in use today.

  1. ^ Temple, Josiah H. (1887). History of Framingham, Massachusetts: Early Known as Danforth's Farms, 1640-1880; with a Genealogical Register. [Framingham]: Town of Framingham. OCLC 15296892 – via Google Play.
  2. ^ Wood, Frederic J. (1919). The Turnpikes of New England and Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland. Boston: Marshall Jones. OCLC 1600049 – via Google Play.