The Babson Boulders are a 6.5-mile-long trail of over 30 granite boulders in Dogtown, which is a ghost town in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
The boulders are glacial erratics, which are rocks that were carried a long distance before being deposited by glaciers over 12,000 years ago.
In the early 20th century, local millionaire and famed statistician, Roger Babson, hired stone cutters to carve inspirational quotes into the boulders during the Great Depression.
Roger Babson’s ancestors had lived in Dogtown, from about 1650 to 1750, and he wanted to improve its spooky reputation, as it was mostly known for once being home to witches, vagabonds, and feral dogs.
In 1927, Roger and his cousin Gustavus Babson purchased 1,150 acres of land in Dogtown and began cataloging the cellar holes of the houses that once existed in the town.
Babson first erected markers to designate each cellar hole, but the cows still grazing in Dogtown at the time knocked them down, so he instead began engraving the numbers into rocks near each site, according to an interview with Babson in the Boston Sunday Post in 1929.
After the stock market crashed in 1929, Roger Babson then hired 35 Finnish stone cutters to carve inspirational quotes into the boulders scattered across Dogtown.
The carvings say things like “Help Mother,” “Use Your Head,” “If Work Stops, Values Decay,” and “Never Try, Never Win.”
Not everyone approved of what Babson did. Some people hated the carvings, including Babson’s own family, who said he was “defacing the boulders and disgracing the family.” (Babson 225)
Furthermore, a feud began between Babson and a local woman named Leila Webster Adams who claimed to own the land that one of the boulders was located on.
Babson denied the accusation, telling the press in 1932 that, “No carving has been done or will be done on any land except what I own or where I have the permission of the owner.” (“Babson Defends His Stone Mottoes,” 1932).
Babson went on to explain why he carved the quotes into the boulders:
“In short, I believe young people should see something when out of doors besides advice to smoke certain brands of cigarettes and use a certain soap to ‘retain their schoolgirl complexion.’ However, this is only an experiment, and only time can tell whether Mrs. Adams or I am on the right track.” (“Babson Replies to Dogtown Criticism,” 1932).
In 1930, Babson donated the land to the City of Gloucester for the construction of a reservoir on the stipulation that the area would forever be kept as a public park.
Sources:
Babson, Roger. Actions and Reactions: An Autobiography of Roger W. Babson. Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1935.
“Dogtown & Babson Builders.” The Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=115460
“Babson Boulders: A Living Legacy Etched in Stone.” Babson Magazine, entrepreneurship.babson.edu/babson-boulders/
Lepionka, Mary Ellen. “Indigenous Presence in Dogtown.” Babson Historical Association, babsonassoc.org/indegeneous-presence-dogtown/
“Historic Group Composition Detail: GLO.964 Babson Boulders.” MACRIS, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=GLO.964
Rabbette, Leo. “Boston Millionaire Deserts Civilization to Live With Birds in Wilderness of Witches and Pirates.” Boston Sunday Post, 28 Jul. 1929, p. 79.
“Dogtown Feud Now Settled.” The Boston Post, 9 Jul. 1932, p. 2.
Palmer, C.B. “’Pigs is News’ – Enough to Get Dogtown on Front Pages.” The Boston Transcript, 30 Nov. 1932, p. 17.
“Babson Replies to Dogtown Criticism.” The Boston Post, 10 Jul. 1932, p. 21.
“Babson Defends His Stone Mottoes.” The Boston Herald, 9 Jul. 1932, p. 6.
“Inscriptions at Dogtown.” The Boston Post, 17 Jul. 1932, p. 31.
“Sermons in Stones.” The Boston Transcript, 21 Jul. 1932, p. 9.
“Note and Comment.” Springfield Weekly Republican, 21 Jul. 1932, p. 3.
“People.” Time Magazine, 18 Jul. 1932, p. 39.