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Along the Freedom Trail, just past Faneuil Hall and the Union Oyster House, is the Boston Stone. The stone is embedded in the
side of a building on Marshall Street. Marshall Street is a narrow alley, and the stone is on the right side of the street if walking toward
the North End.
The mill-stone was originally used for grinding substances that became pigments in paint. The stone was imported from England in 1700 by the
painter Tom Childs. The previous paint mill building at this location was torn down or destroyed, and the mill-stone was then found and embedded in the current
structure. The stone is hollow, and about two feet in diameter. The inscription at the base reads "Boston Stone, 1737."
For many years the stone was used as a starting point for surveyors, making
it famous. It is suggested the name was taken from the ancient "London
Stone," used by the Romans as a central point for many roads.
The Ebenezer Hancock
House is opposite the Boston Stone on Marhsall Street.
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