Dogtown Common & the Babson Boulders — Abandoned & Forgotten in Boston

Entry No. 37 — the Boston file — filed under: ghost-town

Dogtown Common & the Babson Boulders

A 3,600-acre stretch of forest reclaimed from a settlement abandoned by the early 1800s, riddled with numbered cellar holes. During the Depression, eccentric millionaire Roger Babson paid unemployed stonecutters to carve roughly three dozen boulders scattered through the woods with blunt inspirational mottos — 'GET A JOB,' 'KEEP OUT OF DEBT,' 'NEVER TRY NEVER FAIL,' 'HELP MOTHER' — turning a ghost town into an outdoor self-help gauntlet in stone.

The move: Park at the Cherry Street entrance and turn the hike into a scavenger hunt for as many inscribed boulders as you can find before the trail forks get confusing — bring a boulder map or download one first.

Where: Dogtown Common trailhead, Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA 01930

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

#ghost-town #hiking #land-art #depression-era #free #cape-ann

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Wikipedia

last checked: 2026-07-20