(Had to share this once I heard of it-only in Massachusetts)
Cheshire Cheese Monument, Cheshire, MA
A monument in honor of a huge wheel (that weighed between 1200 and 1600 pounds, was four feet wide, and fifteen inches thick) presented to president Thomas Jefferson by the town.
After a three week, 500 mile trip to Washington D.C. by sleigh, it was given to Jefferson on January 1st, 1802.
Not simply a wheel of cheese for Jefferson, the town also made a political statement in its letter to Jefferson, noting that “the cheese was procured by the personal labor of freeborn farmers with the voluntary and cheerful aid of their wives and daughters, without the assistance of a single slave.”
The plaque is dedicated to Pastor John Leland, who encouraged the production of the cheese.
“Hey, TJ, have an absolutely gigantic wheel of cheese. We made it special, just for you! Also, fuck slavery. Sincerely, the entire town of Cheshire, MA.”
(reblogging again for commentary, said it much better than wikipedia did)
(Had to share this once I heard of it-only in Massachusetts)
Cheshire Cheese Monument, Cheshire, MA
A monument in honor of a huge wheel (that weighed between 1200 and 1600 pounds, was four feet wide, and fifteen inches thick) presented to president Thomas Jefferson by the town.
After a three week, 500 mile trip to Washington D.C. by sleigh, it was given to Jefferson on January 1st, 1802.
Not simply a wheel of cheese for Jefferson, the town also made a political statement in its letter to Jefferson, noting that “the cheese was procured by the personal labor of freeborn farmers with the voluntary and cheerful aid of their wives and daughters, without the assistance of a single slave.”
The plaque is dedicated to Pastor John Leland, who encouraged the production of the cheese.
