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Photograph of Eliot Memorial Bridge
Photograph by Jameslwoodward, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Eliot Memorial Bridge

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 19 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.

From the record

“The Eliot Memorial Bridge is a footbridge which was built in 1904 in memory of Charles Eliot, landscape architect to the Metropolitan Park Commission. It is located on the Skyline Trail near the summit of Great Blue Hill in the Blue Hills Reservation, south of Boston, Massachusetts.”

Wikipedia article Eliot Memorial Bridge, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 342 National Register listings published here for Norfolk County · listed in 1980 · category: Structure.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Milton, Milton, 02186
  • When was it listed? 1980-09-25
  • Category. structure
  • Also known as. Blue Hills and Neponset River Reservations MRA
  • Town. Milton town
  • National Register reference number. 80000662 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

31,195 words

The chapter on Milton Town in History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884 names Milton. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

For six years after the arrival in Massachusetts Bay of Governor Winthrop, with the charter, in 1630, and the great accompanying emigration connected with this movement, all the territory comprised within the present borders of Milton remained a part of the undivided lands of the colony, and during this period three gentlemen, who were doubtless members or stockholders of the company before they left England, - lIsrael Stoughton, John Glover, and William Hutchinson, - selected a part of the Jand dividends to which they were entitled within our limits. probably attracted by certain natural advantages which belonged to the locality, - the water-falls in the river, the convenience for ship-building offered by the tidewaters, an abundant supply of ship-timber, and, above Stoughton and Glover were prominent men in the Dorchester

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

Mr. Stoughton selected one hundred and sixty acres of land connected with the lower falls, including nearly the whole of Milton Hill, and the front on the river to the bend, where the ship-yard of Mr. Briggs was located. Nearly all this property continued in him and his heirs for more than twenty

Passage source: History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Milton Town - 31,195 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

185 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 185 fires within 5 miles of Eliot Memorial Bridge between 2015 and 2020, burning about 101 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Recreation and ceremony84
Missing data/not specified/undetermined49
Smoking42
Equipment and vehicle use5
Debris and open burning4
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
7 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
5 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlWESTWOOD
3 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlDEDHAM
29 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
28 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
20 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlBRAINTREE
2 September 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlDEDHAM

Every fire recorded in Norfolk County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 10,453 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 10,453 specimens collected within 10 miles of Eliot Memorial Bridge between 1815 and 1975: 4,370 Plantae, 2,954 Fungi, 2,729 Animalia, 230 Protozoa, 105 Chromista, 42 Unrecorded, 23 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), ?, ? ex Herb. W.G. Farlow and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Lysimachia × producta (A.Gray) FernaldLysimachia × producta (A.Gray) Fernald1900A. P. Chute
A photograph of the species Corylus L., not of this specimenCorylus L.1815Boott, F.M.B.Worcester Turnpike, 7 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Mollugo verticillata, not of this specimenMollugo verticillata L.1815Boott, F.M.B.Boston.
A photograph of the species Nuphar Sm., not of this specimenNuphar Sm.1815Boott, J.W.Worcester Turnpike 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Ranunculus L., not of this specimenRanunculus L.1815not recordedThicket at South Boston.
A photograph of the species Alnus Mill., not of this specimenAlnus Mill.1816not recordedBrighton, 4 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Aquilegia L., not of this specimenAquilegia L.1816not recordedBrighton 3½ miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Fallopia Adans., not of this specimenFallopia Adans.1816Boott, J.W.Andover Turnpike, near Boston. N. America.
A photograph of the species Cistus L., not of this specimenCistus L.1819Boott, J.W.Boston USA.
Solanum bonariense L.1819Boott, J.W.Boston.
A photograph of the species Anemone nemorosa, not of this specimenAnemone nemorosa L.1822Boott, J.W.Boston, U.S.A.
A photograph of the species Asarum L., not of this specimenAsarum L.1822Boott, J.W.Boston, U.S.A.

All 10,453 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Eliot Memorial Bridge: 3 past producers, 2 unknowns, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Granite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Old Colony Crushed StoneGranitePast ProducerGranite
Old Colony QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
West Roxbury Crushed Stone OperatioStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
A A Will Materials CordSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Canton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Canton Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Stoughton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Norfolk County

Storms near this property

21 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Milton, the town this property stands in, in 21 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 9 thunderstorm wind, 5 lightning, 4 heavy rain, 1 hail. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2010LightningMilton3 hurtLightning struck a house on Augusta Road, causing a fire that engulfed the entire third floor of the house. No one was home at the time of the fire. Three firefighters were hospitalized for heat exhaustion but were released less than 24 hours later.
July 2008LightningMilton$250,000A house on Highland Street in Quincy was struck by lightning and caught fire.
July 2002LightningMilton$90,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindMilton$25,000no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMilton$15,000no account filed
August 1998LightningMilton$3,000no account filed
August 2022Thunderstorm WindMilton$800In Milton, the public reported a tree and wires down. Report relayed via amateur radio.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindMilton$800In Milton, a tree and wires were down on Randolph Avenue (Route 28).
July 2025Flash FloodMilton-In Milton, Lincoln St was flooded and impassable.
September 2017FloodMilton-At 930 AM EST in Milton, Lincoln Street at Brook Road was closed due to flooding.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindMilton-An anemometer at Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center recorded a wind gust of 58 mph.
May 2009HailMilton-Penny size hail fell at Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindMilton-Blue Hill Observatory
April 2000Thunderstorm WindMilton-no account filed
May 2000LightningMilton-no account filed
June 2000Heavy RainMilton-no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindMilton-no account filed
February 1999Heavy RainMilton-no account filed
June 1998Heavy RainMilton-no account filed
October 1998Heavy RainMilton-no account filed
May 1996Thunderstorm WindMilton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Norfolk County

Maps showing this location

19 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Great Blue Hill Observation Towerunder 500 feet1980
Great Blue Hill Weather Observatoryunder 500 feet1980
Brookwood Farm0.2 miles1980
Old Barn0.4 miles1980
Comfort Station0.6 miles1980
Refreshment Pavillion0.8 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 80000662 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Norfolk CountyAll 342 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.