Object

Wait Monument

Date:

1763

About this artifact

The Wait Monument was commissioned in 1763 by Joseph Wait as a marker to help travelers passing through Springfield find their way to Boston. Wait was making his way toward his home in Brookfield in the winter of 1762 when he disoriented in a snowstorm and mistakenly took the Chicopee Road instead of Boston Road. He wandered for hours through the dense woods that surrounded the area. Wait hoped this marker would spare subsequent travelers his harrowing ordeal. Wait was a member of the fraternal order of Freemasons, and the marker is decorated with Masonic symbols. The marker reads: BOSTON ROAD This Stone is Erected by Joseph Wait, Esq. of Brookfield For the Benefit of Travelers AD 1763 When the Massachusetts militia fired artillery at the men attacking the Springfield Arsenal, greapeshot shot hit the face and west side of the Wait Monument. The impact craters left by the inch diameter iron shot are still visible. The Wait Monument is the only surviving artifact from the Arsenal directly connected with the action of January 25, 1787.