“Blue Star Memorial”
This memorial sign in downtown Westborough is part of the nationwide Blue Star Memorial Highway Program, a tribute created to honor members of the United States Armed Forces.
The term “Blue Star” comes from the blue star banners that families displayed in their windows during World War I and World War II when a family member was serving in the military. A blue star symbolizes that someone from the household was actively serving the country.
After World War II, the National Council of State Garden Clubs began creating Blue Star Memorial Highways across America as living memorials to veterans and active-duty military personnel. The program officially began in 1945, soon after the end of the war. Rather than commemorating a single battle or event, Blue Star Memorials were designed as ongoing tribute places along highways, roads, parks, and civic spaces throughout the country.
Originally, certain major highways were formerly designated as “Blue Star Memorial Highways,” with markers placed along travel routes to honor those who served. Over time, the program expanded beyond highways to include individual memorial markers like the one in Westborough. Communities across the United States installed these signs as visible reminders of military sacrifice and service.
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The Sibley House
Just a short distance from the center of Westborough stands the Sibley House, today the home and museum of the Westborough Historical Society. From the street it appears to be a handsome nineteenth-century New England home, but its history connects several very different chapters of Westborough’s past. The house was built in 1844 by William […]
Minuteman Monument
Along the quiet shoreline of Westborough’s Minutemen Park stands this large granite memorial honoring the men from the town who answered the alarm on April 19, 1775 – the opening day of the American Revolution. The monument creates a reflective place to remember how ordinary citizens suddenly became soldiers at one of the most pivotal moments in American […]
Minuteman Park
Along the shore of Sandra Pond in Westborough is a small park commemorating the men of the town who responded when word arrived that British troops had marched on Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Today it is a peaceful setting of water, woods and walking trails, making it difficult to imagine the urgency […]
