MAMasonicMonumentPartingStone
MASONIC MONUMENT IN SPRINGFIELD
From New England Craftsman, Vol. XXXVII, No. 4, December 1941, Page 67 and
From New England Craftsman, Vol. XLI, No. 12, December 1946, Page 286:
OLDEST MASONIC MONUMENT
by S. M. Neal
What may he the oldest Masonic monument in America stands near the corner of Federal and State Streets in Springfield, Massachusetts, on property now owned by the United States Armory. it was erected in 1763 by Colonel Joseph Wait, then of Brookfield, Massachusetts, the identity of whose lodge is, so far as this writer's researches go, a hit of a mystery, although what hears all the appearance of a genuine trail leads us to an ancient Trinity Lodge, in New York, that was chartered prior lo the Revolution. No records of the lodge are in existence, hut there are indications that at one time a certificate issued to him by Trinity was in the possession of the Colonel's descendants.
This ancient monument, or "parting stone," is about four and a half feet high, though when put up. legend states, it stood about seven feet high. It has been moved once, perhaps twice, from the original site, though only for a distance of a few yards, and these removals may account for its loss in stature. It is a foot and a half wide and one foot thick and originally was enclosed by a stone curbing eight feet square, all made of Longmeadow brown stone - Longmeadow, where was the stone quarry, adjoins Springfield on the south.
Taking the monument from the center, the upper half as it shows on the photograph shows a scroll with a Latin inscription: ". . . tus Est Sua Merces." Above this scroll is a temple with a flight of seven steps leading to the door, and on the door at one time was carved a square and compasses and the letter "G." On each side of the steps is a pillar. At the top of the arch is an eagle's head, and over the arched doorway another Latin inscription: "Pulsanti Operiet . . ." Above the left pillar is carved a star, above the right, a moon, and above all is the sun. Below is a scroll with the inscription in English: "Boston Road. This Stone is erected bv Joseph Wait, Esq., of Brookfield for the benefit of Travellers. A.D. 1763."
When it was erected the the monument stood in the wilderness east of the then Springfield. From this spot several trails led to various places, but where it stands is in what is now the center of the city. Here changing red and green lights delay or speed motorists and busses on their way to or from nearby towns, west and south, north and east, to other parts of New England. Thus this monument, which has stood guard for 178 years, no longer serves the purpose for which it was erected — to advise travelers of the whereabouts of the Boston Road. Its removal to a point not far from the original site was necessary when the Armory expanded. It was put up outside the Armory fence and is now next to the highway. Years ago vandals cut the Masonic symbols from the door.
Wait erected the monument to advise travelers of the path, as it was then, to Boston, inspired by an experience that nearly ended in tragedy for him. It was during the winter of 1762 when, thirty years old, he was returning to Brookfield from guiding a party of settlers to the New Hampshire Grants - later Vermont, for his knowledge of the unsettled country, gained as a soldier in the French and Indian War, made him a favorite guide.
When he reached Springfield a blizzard was raging and after he had eaten, and was starting to continue his homeward trip, people urged him to wait over. He decided to go on, and at the junction of those several paths he took thai leading to Chicopee instead of the one for Boston. He soon realized that he was lost and turned back. He found the right road and started again. but his exhausted horse could go no farther. He left the animal in a tree shelter and went on, plowing through the snow on foot, hut was forced to stop at a farm house. He was all hut frozen, and in thankfulness for his escape he had the monument erected, the Masonic symbols expressed his gratitude lo God for saving his life. It is known that be went to considerable expense to have the monument made.
Joseph Wait, the second of seven sons of John Wait of Brookfield. was born in 1732 of a sturdy, distinguished family — Chief Justice Wait, of the Supreme Court of the United States, belonged to ibis family.
Much of the glory surrounding the family is traceable, however, to the outstanding career of Joseph Wail as a soldier. His military career is a matter of record in the annals of New England's military heroes.
He enlisted in the Provincial Army in May, 1754. at the age of 22. and because he was known to be a young man of courage and action the high command placed him in the corps in which "those accustomed to travelling and scouting, and in whose courage and fidelity the utmost confidence could he placed," were enrolled.
After the disastrous defeat of Braddock on the Monongahela the British realized that they must have a force of fighters who knew the country and thus it came about that the famous Rogers' Rangers were recruited in New England. The Rangers' officers were intelligent, brave, picked men, of whom Wait was one. Later many of these same soldiers distinguished themselves in the Revolution.
Brother Wait was with Rogers (who himself was a Mason) on that epic expedition against the St. Francis Indians at Three Rivers in Canada, so vividly described by Kenneth Roberts in "Northwest Passage." In recognition of his valor Lord Amherst made him a Captain.
The Rangers were mustered out of service in March 1761, many receiving land in Vermont — then known as the New Hampshire Grants. Wait was one of these, and he removed his family to Windsor (Vermont), where he was prominent in the agitation with New York State over Vermont lands. He joined Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys, was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and put in command of a regiment.
Colonel Wait was killed in a skirmish preceding the battle of Valcour Island, on Lake Champlain. While his men were trying lo take him lo his home he died on the roadside, near North Clarendon, Vermont, on September 28. 1776. and was buried there. Later his fellow officers erected there a monument to him. said to be the first instance in the United States of a man so honored by his compatriots. - Masonic Outlook.
From TROWEL, Fall 1988, Page 4:
Joseph Wait Left His Mark(er) in Masonic History
Most Boston Post Road milestones are still in the ground where Bro. Benjamin Franklin had placed them. The milestone Bro. Joseph Wait placed at the intersection of Federal Sq. and State St., Springfield, has found a new home. Withstanding the rigor of years and vandalism since 1763, it has been placed in the Bro. E. Raymond Turner Library of the Springfield Masonic Temple. There it rests on long-term loan from the city — a Fitting place for the historic marker because the temple has been designated in the National Register of Historic Places.
Recognized as one of the earliest Masonic artifacts in the country, it finally gave way to building expansion; for fear of more erosion, vandalism, and possible destruction, it was first moved into the Springfield Armory where Col. Roswell Lee, commandant, organized Hampden Lodge in 1817 and was its first Master. The stone found its next home in a Forest Park shed. According to Armory Museum historian Lawrence Lowenthal, Bro. Wait had been lost in a blinding snowstorm when travelling what was then (1763) the near-wilderness that surrounded Springfield. He found shelter in a farmhouse but vowed to do something to assist future wayfarers. Lowenthal estimates the stone had been placed by Wait near what was the junction of State St. and St. James Ave., more or less on alignment with the road to Chicopee.
The stone of red sandstone was quaried at Long-meadow. Its present height is five and one-half feet above ground but originally was probably six or seven feet in height. At the top are carved in medium relief the sun, the moon, and a star. Beneath these is the facade of a temple with a flight of seven steps leading to a door, flanked on both sides by pillars. An arch over the door is surmounted by an eagle's head, and on the arch is carved an inscription of which all that now remains legible are the letters "anti." But in 1874, when Milton Bradley sketched it, the word "Pulsanti" was intact and legible. The full inscription was "Pulsanti Aperietur," which translated means, "To him who knocks it shall be opened." Below the door on a ribband is the motto "Virtus est sua merces," meaning, "Virtue is its own reward." Below is inscribed: "BOSTON ROAD/This Stone Erected/by Joseph Wait Esqr/of Brookfield/For the Benefit/of Travellers/AD 1763."
Joseph Wait was born in Sudbury on Nov. 30, 1732, the second of seven sons born to John and Ann Wellington. She died and John married Eunice Morse who bore him another son and then they moved to Brookfield in 1746, living on a hill near the Boston/Albany highway. Wait kept a tavern and we can believe that stories told there by travelling French War soldiers caught the ears of the Wait boys and influenced six of them to serve in the military.
Enlisting as a private in the provincial army in May 1754, Joseph later joined the Rangers where he met Robert Rogers, Israel Putnam, and John Stark, all Freemasons. Kenneth Roberts' novel Northwest Passage, could have included Wait. He served with valor against the French at Quebec, Crown Point, and Ticonderoga. When he reached New York he learned of his father's death. Serving with so many men who were Masons (Rogers belonged to St. John's Lodge, Portsmouth, NH) it was only natural that he would want to become a Mason.
First thought to have been made a member of Meridian Sun Lodge of Brookfield, because of the inscription on the stone marker, it was learned after years of research that Wait had received the three degrees in Trinity Lodge No. 4, New York. Records of Meridian Lodge are assumed to have been burned in the 1864 Grand Lodge fire that destroyed Winthrop House. His great-great-grandson, Horatio Loomis Wait, a noted Chicago lawyer, had possession of the membership certificate given Joseph Wait in 1761. Thus the mystery had finally been solved.
On Jan. 20, 1762, Bro. Wait married Martha Stone and with her brother, Col. Nathan Stone, and his brother, Benjamin, they carved out a new life in the unsettled region of the New Hampshire Grant, later to be known as Vermont. They settled in Windsor in 1765 and his life in that town and in Claremont, as a soldier, political and civic leader, are well documented in authoritative works of Vermont. When Ethan Allen led the Green Mountain Boys, Joseph Wait was one of his four captains, all of whom were Masons.
Retreating from Quebec under command of Gen. John Sullivan, Wait was assigned as a part of the advance guard to prepare the way for the attack by Arnold's fleet at Lake Champlain. He was mortally wounded in a skirmish and died in a Clarendon home in September 1776. His body was buried outside Fort Hill where a stone with inscriptions on both sides identifies him as a Lt. Col., Continental Army.
(Acknowledgement: To M. W. Edward R. Eurich, Past Grand Master of Vermont, for histroical data about Joseph Wait).
