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untitled — anonymous
media: stone, mortar(?), vegetation, time
ca 1747-1892?
(Larger version at flickr)

I think this would make a fun jigsaw puzzle.

This is one of the stone walls at Nathan Tufts Park (also known as Powderhouse Park). It’s a difficult to tell when this wall might have been built because the grounds have had a tangled history over the past few centuries. (The city of Somerville has a brocure (PDF format) with a history of the site). Here’s a brief summary:

(Click any photo to see a bigger version at flickr. There are additional photos on my flickr site.)

Basically, I can’t tell if this wall was constructed with the modern walkways in the late 19th century, when the site first became a power storage facility in 1747, when it became a revolutionary military (presumably somewhat fortified) installation in 1775, or if it may be partially or completely a natural outcropping.

I got all historigeeky trying to puzzle it out, though. I was intrigued by this plaque (placed as part of the park’s dedication in 1892) which asserts that the powder house played a pivotal role in the sparking of the American Revolution:

I also didn’t know that the powder house is the oldest stone building in Massachusetts (although it’s been repaired and or modified several times, most recently following a 1998 fire).

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