The Cambridge and Concord Turnpike was an early

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

between

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

. Portions have been incorporated into today's

Massachusetts Route 2 Route 2 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway. Route 2 runs the entire ...

; the remainder forms other major local roads.

Route description

The turnpike began at the western end of the

West Boston Bridge The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Red ...

Cambridgeport Cambridgeport is one of the neighborhoods of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, the Charles River, the Grand Junction Railroad, and River Street. The neighborhood contains predominantly residential homes, many of the ...

(now

Kendall Square Kendall Square is a neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The square itself at the intersection of Main Street and Broadway. It also refers to the broad business district east of Portland Street, northwest of the Charles River, north of MIT ...

). From there it proceeded along today's Broadway to Mechanics Square, where it intersected with the Middlesex Turnpike (now Hampshire Street), then continued to the

Cambridge Common Cambridge Common is a public park and National Historic Landmark in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near Harvard Square and borders on several parts of Harvard University. The north end of the park has a large playground. T ...

, skirting

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

by as required by law, and from there proceeded northwest past Fresh Pond to Belmont Center, and then onwards to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

by the route now known as Concord Avenue. ((Today's sharp turn after crossing Pleasant Street in Belmont Center was a revision to the original turnpike, as its original path directly up the hill ahead proved too difficult for transportation. The earlier route still exists as Centre Ave.) The turnpike continued through Lincoln in a direct line to Concord Center. Today one section forms part of Route 2 (from

Route 128 The following highways are numbered 128: Canada * New Brunswick Route 128 * Ontario Highway 128 (former) * Prince Edward Island Route 128 Costa Rica * National Route 128 India * National Highway 128 (India) Japan * Japan National Route 128 ...

to Bypass Road); the other continues into Concord as Cambridge Turnpike.

History

The Cambridge and Concord Turnpike Corporation was established on March 7-8, 1803, by act of the

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legislature. In 1805-06 most of the turnpike was constructed in very nearly a straight line from Cambridge to Concord Center, despite the needless difficulties this entailed with steep hills along the selected path. (After construction, the route was somewhat modified to improve its practicality.) Much of the road opened for business in February 1807, though the eastern segment within Cambridge was not completed until circa 1812. Two

tollgate A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollga ...

s were erected on the turnpike: one about west of Fresh Pond, and the other in

. No gates were erected within Cambridge, as a result of a lawsuit. The road's width varied from over much of its route to as much as at today's Broadway. The turnpike was not an economic success, and in May 1829 it was converted to a public highway. Its poor profits were probably due to the uncompromising "straight line" route, which both impeded traffic by needless steep hills and bypassed the important town of Lexington.

References

{{Reflist * Cambridge and Concord Turnpike Corporation, ''Act of incorporation of the Cambridge & Concord Turnpike, passed March 7, 1803 also, the bye laws of the same'', printed by Samuel Etheridge, Charlestown ass. 1803. * A. Bradford Smith, "The Concord Turnpike", in ''Proceedings of the Lexington Historical Society'', Lexington Historical Society, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1905. Vol. III, pages 110-116. * Frederic James Wood, ''The Turnpikes of New England and Evolution of the Same Through England, Virginia, and Maryland'', Boston: Marshall Jones Company, 1919. Page 122.

Route description

History

References

See also