Historical Site Markers
Look for these markers around Weymouth to discover historically significant sites.
Abigail Adams Birthplace
Marker Location: 180 Norton Street
Abigail Smith Adams, the wife of John Adams, 2nd President, and Mother of John Quincy Adams, 6th Presidents, was born here in 1744.
Arnold Tavern
Marker Location: Commercial Street at Washington Street, opposite Sacred Heart School
An inn and stagecoach stop operated by Samuel Arnold at the fork of the Plymouth and Bridgewater Trails. This Tavern served as a meeting place for the Committee of Safety for Weymouth and nine of the neighboring towns during the Revolutionary War.
First Church in Weymouth
Marker Location: 17 Church Street
Gathered in 1623, settlers from England formed the nucleus of the first parish. The town meeting form of government originated here. The first meetinghouse was on Burying Hill. The present site was purchased in 1682 and this meeting house was erected in 1833.
First Town House
Marker Location: Middle Street at Washington Street, near exit of Winter Court
Here in 1852 at the geographical center of Weymouth was built the first "town house" or town hall, later used as a high school. During King Philip's War in 1675, this was the location nearest to Boston at which settlers battled Indians and houses were burned.
Rice Tavern
Marker Location: 870 Broad Street
Built in the early 1770's, an ordinary operated by Josiah Rice, the "Innholder," known as the half-way house on the Boston to Plymouth Trail.*
*An ordinary refers to a tavern or inn in the colonial era that served a complete meal at a fixed price.
Second Parish Meeting House
Marker Location: 25 Columbian Street
Here, in 1722, the settlers of the southerly end of Weymouth erected their first meeting house on the land of Jacob Turner at the junction of several trails called "the Great Plain." That building was replaced in 1785 and again in 1854 by the present edifice.