Historic Plain Road Sign Restored

By Richard Conrad
Wayland Post Contributor

A historic sign at the intersection of Boston Post Road and Plain Road near the Weston town line has been restored after it was damaged in a motor vehicle crash in September 2024.

The sign, believed to be over 100 years old and mounted on an irregularly-shaped cut granite post, is unlike any other road sign in town. The sign points to Tower Hill railroad station, which was located at the intersection of Plain Road and what is now the rail trail. The station was used by commuters on the daily train to Boston until the train was discontinued in November 1971. The station is no longer there so the sign is the only remaining physical reminder of the name “Tower Hill.”

Thanks to the efforts of Wayland Police Chief Ed Burman, who assisted the Wayland Historical Commission in locating the police crash report, the identity of the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash was identified. That driver’s insurance company paid for the cost of restoring the sign.

Whenever damage to town property caused by vehicles can be identified, the firm Muni-Tech, Inc. of North Attleborough is one of two companies that handles processing claims with insurance companies and arranging for the repairs to town property. The original granite post was broken in two places, so a new post was obtained from the Swenson Granite Quarry in Woodbury, Vt., and cut in an irregular shape to match the original post as closely as possible. The sign, made from silicon bronze alloy, was restored by artisans at Boccaccio Sculpture Services of Canton and was remounted on the new post.