Sterling in Worcester County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)

"Mary Had a Little Lamb"

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, May 30, 2010

1. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” Monument

Bronze by Rosalind Waters is approximately 2 feet tall on a 1½ foot tall Johannesburg granite base.
Ms. Waters reports that the model was a 6 week old Merino ewe (the common wool sheep in New England in the beginning of the 19th century) raised by a teenage girl from Hubbardson, Massachusetts, as a 4-H project. The artist's signature is on the bronze base. —Ed.

Inscription. Statue front: Born in Sterling, Mass. Mary Elizabeth Sawyer 1806-1889 and her little lamb Long side of the base: “Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow, And everywhere that Mary went, The lamb was sure to go.” . . . John Roulstone Below lamb’s hindquarters: This memorial, commemorating the poem, “Mary had a little lamb”, was presented to the Town of Sterling by the Sterling Historical Society. It was made possible by donations from the “young-in-heart” everywhere. * * * Dedicated May, 1991

Erected 1991 by Sterling Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Arts, Letters, Music • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1991.

Location. 42° 26.278′ N, 71° 45.601′ W. Marker is in Sterling, Massachusetts, in Worcester County. It is on Main Street (Massachusetts Route 62), on the left when traveling east. Marker is on the town common. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sterling MA 01564, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Quiet Corner

and in Greater Worcester.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Lafayette’s Tour (within shouting distance of this marker); Mary Sawyer’s Birthplace (approx. 1.3 miles away); Lancaster (approx. 2.1 miles away); Rowlandson Rock (approx. 3.1 miles away); a different marker also named Rowlandson Rock (approx. 3.7 miles away); Prescott Grist Mill (approx. 4 miles away); Sawyer-Carter Bridge (approx. 4 miles away); Wickapickit Brook and Bridge (approx. 4.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sterling.

Regarding "Mary Had a Little Lamb". One of the most famous of all nursery rhymes seems to have originated with a schoolgirl named Mary Elizabeth Sawyer and her lamb, who lived in Sterling, Massachusetts. As this marker indicates, the first few lines are attributed to Mary’s schoolmate, John Roulstone. They likely inspired Sarah Josepha Hale of Boston to write her much longer poem in 1830. A few years later the poem was set to song, and its lyrics are quoted on Wikipedia (see the link below). William S. and Ceil Baring-Gould, in The Annotated Mother Goose, note that the poem’s popularity soared after it appeared in the 1857 edition of McGuffey’s Second Reader.

Thomas A. Edison, to test his prototype phonograph in 1877, shouted the first few lines of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” into a diaphragm

Poem on Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, May 30, 2010

2. Poem on Marker

connected to a rotating cylinder wrapped with tinfoil. When played back, the recording astonished all who heard it — Edison included.

Another American inventor, Henry Ford, bought the small Redstone School in Sterling that Mary Sawyer had attended with her lamb. (The poem’s second stanza begins, “It followed her to school one day.”) Ford moved this schoolhouse to nearby Sudbury, Massachusetts, and placed it on the grounds of the Wayside Inn, which he also owned early in the 20th century.

Also see . . .
1. Wikipedia article. Discusses the likelihood that Mary Elizabeth Sawyer’s friend John Roulstone wrote the first four lines of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and poet Sarah Josepha Hale fleshed it out with additional stanzas. (Submitted on May 31, 2010, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts.)

2. Edison’s voice. The 1877 recording of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” was lost, but late in life Thomas A. Edison gave this repeat performance. (Submitted on May 31, 2010, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts.)

Below Lamb’s Back End image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, May 30, 2010

3. Below Lamb’s Back End

Mary Sawyer House image. Click for full size.

circa 1920

4. Mary Sawyer House

This is the Original House in which Mary and the Little Lamb lived Sterling, Mass. The original house, no longer extant, is about 1.3 miles from the marker.

Looking South Down Main Street image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, May 30, 2010

5. Looking South Down Main Street

Looking West Toward Meetinghouse Hill Road image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Roger W. Sinnott, May 30, 2010

6. Looking West Toward Meetinghouse Hill Road

Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2018. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2010, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 6,356 times since then and 147 times this year. Last updated on October 17, 2011, by Michael Tiernan of Danvers, Massachusetts. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 31, 2010, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts. 4. submitted on October 1, 2015. 5, 6. submitted on May 31, 2010, by Roger W. Sinnott of Norwell, Massachusetts. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.