By Robert Aberg and Elizabeth Weeks
Grafton Historical Society –
Driving west along Main Street in South Grafton, one’s eyes are eventually drawn to a green antique cannon and memorial resting under majestic old trees on a small grass triangle at the distinctively angled intersection of Elmwood and Main. This is Sampson Square, also known as South Grafton Common. It is one of a dwindling number of classic New England intersections in the area. Each spring, volunteers spruce up the square with flags, flowers, and fresh mulch around the cannon and monument in time for Memorial Day, then maintain them throughout the summer for a tidy, well-maintained look.
Originally, Sampson Square was a simple green space at the intersection. In the early 1920s, the people of Grafton voted to “erect a suitable monument in each precinct in memory of World War veterans.”
Places like Sampson Square are valuable to the community because they quietly celebrate local history in a peaceful oasis under a canopy of mature trees, outlined by distinctive roadways formed at historically convenient angles.
But the current configuration may not last much longer. Sampson Square is now part of the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission’s roadway reclamation project called the Main Street Transportation Improvement Project. According to the plans available on the town’s Planning Board website the estimated $4.8 million project was voted in at town meeting which will include many useful repairs and upgrades such as new curbs, new sidewalks, drainage fixes, pothole elimination, bike lanes, crosswalks, and accessibility.
But some surprises can also be seen.
For example, the intersection of Elmwood and Main is proposed to be “squared up,” cutting the graceful sweep of Elmwood Street to the standard 90 degrees to improve visibility and safety. The intersection of Main Street at Providence Road was similarly squared up not too long ago.
According to the March 10 meeting minutes at the Grafton Historical Commission, Robert Aberg, an Historical Commission member and reporter for this story, asked Town Planner Joe Laydon if any trees would be removed. The town planner said a 34 inch diameter tree, the largest in the park, would need to be removed to square up the intersection.
The new roadway alignment plan also shows the green World War I cannon’s current location would be so close to the roadway that winter plow crews would likely push salted snow against it, speeding corrosion unless it is moved. The opposite side of Main Street will also need to be kept wide so fire trucks emerging from the South Grafton Fire Station can make the new, tighter, turn onto Elmwood.
Farther back on the green space of the square sits the World War I monument, a bronze plaque affixed to a large granite boulder. The plaque has an eagle at the top and reads, “In memory of the Grafton boys who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War,” listing the names of 13 young soldiers from Grafton with their dates of birth and death.
Joseph Sampson was one of these fallen soldiers. He was born Nov. 26, 1893 in L’Ardoise, Nova Scotia to Frank and Catherine (Briand) Sampson. In 1904 the family immigrated to the Fisherville section of Grafton and settled on Railroad Avenue in the New Village, later renamed Sampson Street. Joseph was one of seven children and he worked in the spinning mule room at the Fisherville Mill for the Fisher Manufacturing Company.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Joseph Sampson was called to duty on July 24, 1918 and assigned to Company A, 74 infantry, 12th Division of the U.S. Army the next week on Aug. 1, 1918. But his time in the military was short. He died less than two months later on Sept. 29, 1918 at the base hospital in nearby Camp Devens, now Fort Devens, possibly from the ongoing worldwide influenza epidemic.
The South Grafton square was named in his memory since he and his family lived in Fisherville.
The World War I cannon is a three-inch Fields U.S. model of 1905 but it also never saw combat. Today, children play and climb on the cannon, perhaps imagining how they might protect South Grafton from invaders coming down Main Street.
The cannon disappeared from the square in 2008 after road work was done in the area. Fortunately, local historian and restoration buff Skip Michniewicz located it and then refurbished it for future generations to enjoy. The monument was rededicated in 2009.
Resident input into the Main Street improvement project may be the most important factor in helping to determine what works best for South Grafton and whether or not the town will fully preserve the cannon, the trees, and the distinctive sweeping view onto Elmwood Street at Sampson Square.
Interested voters can stop by Sampson Square, see the work of the volunteers who preserve it and its history, then view the plan online at the Planning Department website at grafton-ma.gov. and then communicate to the Planning Department on their opinion on how Sampson Square should look in the future.
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