John Swift Dwelling House

October 25, 2017 by cryan.com

Some Framingham residents may not know that there is a monument on the corner of Swift and Maple Street. The monument marks the spot of Reverend John Swift - one of Framingham first residences.

This is a monument to John Swift Dwelling House.

Six things I learned about the John Swift Dwelling

• Reverend John Swift came to the town of Framingham shortly after it was formed in 1701. He came from Milton Massachusetts to be Framingham's first minister. His church was located at Church Hill Cemetery.
• He was paid 60£ a year and give 100£ and 35 cords of wood to build his house.
• His original property was 140 acres for farming use. Today this would cover much of Framingham State University to the Sudbury River.
• Reverend John Swift died in 1745 and was buried near where he preached in Church Hill Cemetery. Over the years his grave marker became cracked and broken and replaced by the town in the early 1880's. The original headstone is kept at the historical society.
• The town first official road was connecting the meetinghouse to the minister's house. This would be present-day Maple Street and Salem End Road.
• The monument address is 129 Maple Street, Framingham Massachusetts. This is a small plot of land (0.08 Acres) now owned by the Framingham Historical & Natural Society. It was last sold to the Framingham Historical Society on October 14, 1925.
• The monument was place where he lived in the 1800s. A replacement monument was placed on June 17, 1911, by the Framingham Historical Society (now the Framingham History Center.) It was replaced again in 2016 by the Framingham Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
• When the new monument was placed in 2016, the land value jumped from $1,000 to $150,000. (There's no indication on why the value of the land had a 150% increase.)

Tablet Text

The Tablet says:

This Tablet Marks the Spot of
Which Stood the Dwelling House of The Rev D John Swift Fist Minister of Framingham
Born in Milton, Mass Mar 14, 1675, Graduated From Harvard College 1697 Ordained at Framingham Oct 8, 1701, Died April 24, 1745, in the FORTY Fourth Year of His Ministry in Framingham
JAM Tandem in Domino Requievit
Places by the Framingham Historical and Natural History Society June 17, 1911
Restored by the Framingham Chapter DAR 2016

The phrase, "JAM Tandem in Domino Requievit" is Latin for "At length in the Lord."

Finding the Monument

The Monument is located on Swift Road, in Framingham Massachusetts. You can see the monument as you drive slowly down Maple Street.

One more Thing'

Swift Road is named after Reverend John Swift. Seems obvious now, but most people wouldn't know it when driving past it on Maple Street.