The Old Millstone A Town Marker on the Common

The old millstone on the Common was first dedicated in 1948 as a “town marker” honoring the founders of the town.The project was undertaken by the Historical Society as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.. The millstone was donated by the Golden family of Old Mill Road and is believed to be one of the original stones from Prescott’s mill, built in 1668, before Harvard was incorporated as a town..
The dedication ceremony was elaborate; it featured speeches by the town’s doctor, H.B Royal, by Clara Endicott Sears, and included a “historical pageant”  and string quartet.   A second plaque honoring the donors of the stone was intended to be attached to the back but probably because of pressing priorities of recovering from WW2, the second plaque was never installed.

On Memorial Day 1997, which was the 100th Anniversary of the Historical Society, the town marker was rededicated and the long overdue bronze plaque was installed on back of the stone, honoring the gift of the stones by the George Golden family, who were then the owners of the oldest millsite, near the pond on Old Mill Road.

The ceremony took place after the Memorial Day parade and was marked by speeches honoring the founders of the town and the work of Historical Society members Mario Barba, and John and Janet Zimmer. Joe Theriault was the main speaker.