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First Divided Highway in America - Savery Avenue in Carver, Massachusetts

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Mostly obscure from the famed cranberry bogs scattered around southeastern Massachusetts lays what is believed to be the first divided highway in the United States of America. Located just off of Massachusetts State Route 58 (MA 58) to the south of downtown Carver, Massachusetts is where you can find Savery Avenue. It is easy to miss, as this short drive with a parkway-like feel is easily hidden among the tall pine trees. But for those who are lucky enough to take the detour of less than a half mile, you will be treated with a piece of American history.

Savery Avenue, or Savery's Avenue, has its roots in 1861, before the days of modern automobiles when the horse and buggy was the common way to travel between Point A and Point B. The narrow tree-lined road was presented to the public by William Savery, who was a Carver native, and prominent businessman who owned both an iron foundry and a lumber mill, and also dabbled in public affairs and medicine. Savery built the highway to provide a boulevard for residents to drive their carriages through on Sunday afternoons, plus it was close to his cottage on Sampson Pond. He gave the road to the public in 1861 with the provision that the pines that lined the median and alongside the road be left standing "for shade and ornament for man and beast". On a hot, sunny day before air conditioning was invented, the shade of a pine tree would be most welcome.

A small historical sign along MA 58 is one of a few signs that you're driving alongside history.

It is not certain if William Savery could have imagined how divided highways evolved over the centuries, from the tree-lined carriageways of yore to the high-speed corridors of today, linking various population centers. In 1907, Savery Avenue was macadamized, or paved, and this was financed in part by two of Savery's daughters. During the 1920s, Massachusetts started numbering its automobile routes, and the state defined Savery's Avenue as part of MA 58. The route was a winding, rural route when it was first denied, including the divided highway that makes up Savery Avenue. As the area population along MA 58 grew and as traffic on the route increased, Mass widened the road and straightened out some of its curves. As a result, most of the original divided highway, Savery Avenue, was lost, except for the small portion that remains today.

Realizing the historic value of the roadway, the Town of Carver agreed to purchase Savery Avenue in 1995 from its owners to prevent future development of the land surrounding the road, thus preserving this important link to local history and keeping the surroundings mostly intact as William Savery envisioned it. Due to its historic significance, Savery Avenue has been nominated to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Part of the land alongside Savery Avenue was preserved as the Savery Avenue Conservation Area, which boasts two small parking areas, park benches, and hiking trails. Today, Savery Avenue is a great place to enjoy passive recreation and learn about local and transportation history.


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Sources and Links:
Return to: Gribblenation / Travel New England

Wicked Local - Savoring Savery Avenue
WCAI - Savery Avenue, a Template for Future Transportation
Buzzards Bay Coalition - Savery Avenue Conservation Area
Carole Knits - Historic Savery Avenue
Turtles Travel - Cranberries, History and Puppies in Carver, MA
The Patriot-Ledger - In rural Carver, America's first divided highway
North and South Rivers Watershed Association - Savery Avenue Conservation Area
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Location: Savery Ave, Carver, MA 02330, USA

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