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Sudbury commission begins formal review of tercentenary markers' removal and reinterpretation options
Summary
Commissioners discussed endorsing removal of the town’s tercentenary markers, legal constraints cited by MassDOT, and interpretive alternatives such as relocating markers to an interpretive site; the commission will finalize its consensus at the October meeting before a joint discussion with the Historic District Commission.
The Sudbury Historical Commission devoted an extended portion of its Sept. 17 meeting to the future of the town’s tercentenary markers — roadway signs erected by a 1930 special act — and whether to endorse their removal or pursue other measures to reinterpret early town history.
Commissioner Michael outlined the legal and procedural context, saying MassDOT’s cultural-resource staff has told the commission that under Chapter 10 of the Acts and Resolves of 1930 the department does not have explicit authority to remove the markers. He also raised a statutory risk: Massachusetts law (chapter 266, §95) criminalizes willful removal of a historical marker in some circumstances, a point he said merits caution.
Members discussed several possible paths: endorse removal and ask the Select Board to pursue removal or a legislative remedy; seek a formal legal opinion; or plan interpretive alternatives that preserve the markers as artifacts while removing them from travel corridors. Commissioner Michael proposed using the town-owned Haynes Garrison House site as an interpretive open-air museum where the markers and other historical material could be contextualized. Community volunteers and participants urged that removed markers be preserved for educational displays rather than destroyed.
Katrina Fontas, who organized a community forum on the topic, recommended preservation and public interpretation: "This is an opportunity... to have that conversation about what was happening in the town in the 1920s and 1930s," she said. Commissioners agreed to revisit the issue and, if necessary, prepare materials ahead of a joint meeting with the Historic District Commission in the fall; the commission will aim to finalize its consensus in October before advising the Select Board or advancing formal proposals.
Next steps: The commission will place the item on the Oct. agenda to agree on a clear consensus position and consider whether to prepare a report or recommended process to forward to the Select Board.
