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The old Medford Turnpike
The good roads movement has acquired too much momentum in these first days of the twentieth century, is too well appreciated by all sorts and conditions of travelers, for us, here and now, to criticise either the cost of construction or the great and lasting benefits accruing from the gradual introduction of these scientifically constructed,—the so-called sand-papered roads.
The state, the county, the city, and the town seemingly vie with each other in their efforts to improve the highways, and so facilitate the transportation of merchandise from point to point.
Not so in the early years of the past century; ‘any old thing’ of a road was thought good enough for the farmers, although at that time the hauling was all practically done by this class of the community.
You know about the time of the chartering of the Boston & Lowell railroad, the officials of the old
Middlesex Canal went upon record as stating, that no railroad, no corporation could compete with the farmer in this teaming business, because the farmer, having the necessary paraphernalia which he used in his business as an agriculturist upon his farm and in moving his crops and supplies, could team goods over the roads cheaper than anyone else, and it was useless to think he couldn't. The farmers did starve out the old canal company; it would seem by the above statement that its officials were willing to acknowledge themselves beaten by the yeomen from the back towns.
There were some individuals, however, away back in the beginning of the century, some progressive men, who began to agitate for better roads.
There were few settlers in the villages, the country was sparsely settled, the towns small and poor; the appropriations for roads, little in amount, had to be spread out very thin; consequently,
