Front Street

From Worcester Activist wiki

In the days of the early settlers, Front street was first worn into a path by churchgoers.

The path led from Main street, past the rude home of James Holmes to Gershom Rice’s on the south side of the Grafton road. A brook cut across the path which was bridged by a log. Nobody knew who put it there, but it held and was a good place to cross.

Many Sundays widened the path. Then the wagons came as houses began to rise on the meadowland along the brook. Soon the settlers were able to walk two and three abreast in the ruts left by the wagon wheels.

How Front street got its name is not known. It is generally believed that the name clung because the street was in front of the Common land.

It first appeared with its name on a map in 1829 but is, of course, much older.

Now one of Worcester’s more important streets, with thriving stores and other businesses, Front street leads to Union Station and Boston via the Turnpike. It is a far cry from the log over the brook.

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The core of this article comes from A History of Your City Streets.