For years, I've passed over a bridge in Medfield going to and from work. For many years, there was no sign posted on the bridge to let folks know the name of the river beneath (it's the Charles). But sometime early last year, Medfield went around and posted nice new 'streetsign' types of signs on the bridges.
I didn't pay the sign any attention - I already knew the name of the river I was crossing. But then one day, I happened to glance at the sign as I was on my way to work - and did a double-take - What the hell?. Had that sign actually read what I thought it read???
Going home that night, I looked at the sign as I passed it...and became even more confused. "Charles River" was clearly posted in black lettering on a white background. What gives? That's not at all what I thought I'd seen on the other side, on my way in this morning.
I was going much too fast (as usual) to get a good look at the opposite side of the sign, so that would have to wait until the following morning's commute.
So the next morning, I slowed as I approached the sign...and was vindicated...and a bit thrilled. For you see, the other side of the sign did indeed read what I had thought I'd seen the day before;
Death Bridge. Hey now, that's a nice thing to see as you're heading over an expanse of water. And just how does a bridge earn such a name? Well, when you have a question, what do you do? You Google it - and lo and behold; there was a story about the bridge which explained everything.
Here's the link - it's actually an interesting read;
http://hometownweekly.net/the-bridge-of-death-p7413-137.htm
(In the event the link doesn't work, or if the link becomes broken, here's the story;
It was exactly 50 years ago in 1962 that the beginning of the end of Death Bridge, also known as Dearth Bridge, had begun. It was to be the death knell to Death Bridge. The bridge connected Route 27 between Medfield and Sherborn as it crossed over the Charles River. Route 27 at the time wound through Medfield Center from Spring Street, meandered down North Street to Harding Street and then onto Hospital Road and over Death Bridge into Sherborn. The Hospital Road section was particularly narrow, especially as you approached Death Bridge. The road itself, near the bridge, was lined by massive maple trees, giving it a Normal Rockwell appearance. The bridge, dating to 1915, was clearly showing its age by 1962. Selectman, pushed by Superintendent of Streets Billy McCarthy, applied for state funds for the relocation of the Hospital Road section of Route 27 near the bridge and the construction of a new modern bridge, a couple of hundred yards to the east of the existing bridge.
Now, to the reason for the bridge’s unusual name -
John and Mary Death came to America during the Great Puritan Migration, presumably landing in Ipswich Harbor, later called Topsfield. From there, the family traveled to Sudbury in 1672, and then to Natick and in 1678 they settled in Sherborn. Death family members settled near the Charles River on the Sherborn side of the bridge connecting Medfield and Sherborn. During the Native-American attack on Medfield in the King Philip War, all three Medfield bridges leading over the Charles River were burnt. On the bridge to Sherborn the Native-American, known as James-the-Printer, left a note on the ruined bridge warning the settlers: the note reads as follows:
“Know by this paper that the Indians that thou hast provoked to wrath and anger will war these twenty-one years, if you will. There are many Indians yet. We come three hundred at this time. You must consider that the Indians loose nothing but their lives; you must loose your fair houses and cattle.”
The bridge was re-built after the war and was kept in repair over the years until 1915. At that time it was substantially rebuilt and a plaque commemorating the historic spot of James the Printer’s Note was made a part of the bridge. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Sherborn homestead near the bridge lived in by Death Family members, the name of the bridge became known as Death’s Bridge. Later, for obvious reasons, some family members changed their name from Death to Dearth. The bridge was sometimes called Death Bridge and sometimes Dearth Bridge, depending upon the spelling of the family living in the family homestead by the bridge. The homestead was later inherited by Ezra Death. Ezra married a Miss R. Howe of Northboro, and their son Charles Austin, to get rid of the “Death” name, legally changed his name from Death to Howe (his mother’s maiden name) and then he inherited the estate by the bridge. The homestead is said to have then been passed down to Howe descendants for two more generations, coming to Sarah E. Howe who, in her will in 1918 being a widow, left the homestead to a Mabel Davis – marking the first time that the homestead passed out of family hands after about 150 years of Death-Howe ownership. By the mid-20th century the bridge was generally known as Dearth’s Bridge, reflecting the newer change in spelling, although old-timers continued to call it Death’s Bridge. With the family no longer living near the bridge, newer generations began to think the name of the bridge reflected fatal accidents that must have taken place at that spot, not realizing the family name history associated with the bridge.
In 1962 the towns of Medfield and Sherborn began the first steps of building a new bridge to the east of the original one. The following year, in 1963, Death/Dearth’s bridge was demolished and the current “new Rt. 27 Bridge” was built. A walk today down the “old” section of Rt. 27 will bring you to a sudden end in the now overgrown road and the missing gap over the Charles River to the other side of Sherborn, where for many generations the bridge named “Death” had stood.
Pretty cool stuff, huh?
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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