Braggville, Massachusetts

Braggville is a former postal village located in Massachusetts, now within the towns of Holliston in Middlesex County, Medway in Norfolk County and Milford in Worcester County. Though people had settled the land long before the incorporation of the town of Holliston, Braggville's unofficial history began on March 8, 1785 when Alexander Bragg purchased farmland there.[2] The village itself however, would be named for his nephew, Colonel Arial Bragg, Holliston's first shoe and boot maker as well as the agrarian community's first wholesale manufacturer.[3] Braggville was also the site of several quarries of Milford pink granite, which supplied buildings and railroad projects in the United States in the late 19th century.[4] After a century of economic prowess, the village fell into decline following the First World War.

Braggville, Massachusetts
Village
Braggville Depot and Post Office, c. 1919
Coordinates: 42°10′0″N 71°28′48″W
CountryUnited States
StateMassachusetts
CountyMiddlesex, Worcester, Norfolk
Elevation
298 ft (91 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
01746, 01757, 02053
Area code(s)508
GNIS feature ID611657[1]

Decline and obscurity

With the emergence of the Post–World War I recession much of the town's business came to a standstill. By March 1919, the Boston and Albany Railroad had ceased providing passenger service to the Braggville station, as well as all freight service. Although its schoolhouse would remain standing for several more decades, the end of Braggville as a would-be town came in June 1919, when the U.S. Mail shuttered its post office.[5]

Geography
A map of Braggville, as it appeared at the village's industrial and cultural peak between the years of 1850 and 1880.

Braggville does not have official borders defined by the United States Census Bureau, and throughout its history has held nebulous boundaries. The U.S. Geological Survey places it as a populated place solely in the town of Holliston, however historical accounts describe it as partially extending into Milford and Medway[1][6][7]

It is located 25.2 mi (40.6 km) west of Boston and is adjacent to Interstate 495. Massachusetts Route 16 passes through the village, bisecting it almost evenly.

Adjacent towns

Braggville is located in eastern Massachusetts, and bordered by:

Notes
  1. "Braggville, Massachusetts". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved Jul 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. A. Bragg, 7-8.
  3. Walker, 481.
  4. Bragg, Ernest A (1958). History Of Braggville Section of Holliston, Medway and Milford. Boston. p. 13. OCLC 6115177. Retrieved 3 Jul 2015.
  5. "Town to Lose Postoffice" (PDF). El Paso Herald. El Paso, TX. 29 Jun 1919. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 Jul 2015. Braggville, Mass., June 28.— This town has lost its postoffice because no one will be postmaster without having two or three other jobs. They say they cannot live on the small salary of the position and the postoffice department will not allow 'outside work.' Acting postmaster Mather upon instructions from the postoffice department closed the office for good. Braggville lost its freight and railroad station three months ago.
  6. E. Bragg, The origin and growth..., 33.
  7. Mason, Orion T (1913). The Handbook of Medway History; A Condensed History of the Town of Medway, Massachusetts. Medway, Massachusetts: G.M. Billings, Printer. p. 85. Retrieved 2 Jul 2015. Great West Woods.— The forest originally extending from Summer street to Milford and Braggville.

References

See also
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