Saltbox Road and the Parklands Beyond the Railroad Tracks Saltbox Road is an abandoned road (to car traffic, anyway) that extends from Freedom Street a few hundred yards west of the railroad tracks, up to Overdale Parkway. Originally it continued on to North Avenue in Mendon. In the top picture you can see the road, the yellow gate at the entrance, and a bit of Freedom Street on the right. For most of its length, Saltbox Road looks much like what you see in the second and third pictures. Stone walls run along most of it on both sides. The last hundred yards or so, as you get near Overdale Parkway, are overgrown. Several old foundations can be seen near the road. They're fairly close to each other, and I think at least one of them was probably for a barn. There are several paths that branch off of Saltbox Road. One of them leads to the fieldstone fireplace/shelter called the Lookout. The bottom picture, which shows Hopedale Pond, was taken near the Lookout. Freedom Street at that time (during the days of the Hopedale Community - 1842 - 1856) went to Mendon, up the steep hill past the "Saltbox" place, now occupied by the Dillon family. Frank Dutcher, Hopedale Reminiscences. The "winter pictures" were taken in December 2006. Those showing leaves on the trees are from September 2011. Back to Parklands Walk, Page 1 Park, Pond and Sports Menu HOME |
