Pompositticut

These Tercentenary road signs are located around Massachusetts. I look for them. This weather marker is located in Stow and holds the earliest name of the place.

The sign tells us that this land was once known as Pompositticut, settled by English colonists around 1660, and later incorporated as Stow in 1683. These markers were placed along the state marking the three-hundredth anniversary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony founding.  

Pompositticut comes from the language of the Native peoples who lived here long before the town was formed. The land had an identity and a history before it was given a colonial name.

The story of Stow reaches back to an earlier chapter and did not begin with its incorporation.

The use of the word “plantation” reflects the language of the 17th century, when it referred to a colonial settlement. The marker stands as a reminder that every town has a beginning that extends beyond the names we know.