Nothing remains of the settler village of Dogtown, situated on Massachusetts's rocky, windblown Cape Ann. The last inhabitant abandoned the town 200 years ago, but its population wavered and declined long before that. Where Dogtown stood, travelers may today find a constellation of huge boulders inscribed with inspirational messages and dire admonitions. Once, they proudly marked the horizon of a treeless promontory. The stones now stand shaded under the canopy of a densely overgrown forest, but their commanding, deep-carved capitals are undiminished.

The monumental project was undertaken by millionaire economic theorist Roger Babson, who, during the Great Depression charitably hired local unemployed stonecutters, most of them immigrants from Finland, to complete the 36 individual carvings, all situated in the area surrounding the former village commons of Dogtown.

Babson famously forecasted an economic cataclysm that would directly manifest as "Black Thursday", the Wall Street crash of September 5, 1929; the event that indicated the beginning of the Great Depression.

Babson's legacy is far-reaching, he founded several colleges and research institutions and donated his wealth generously. Among his many diverse interests was in detailing the obscure history of Dogtown, MA.

Below is a quote from Roger Babson about his work on the boulders of Dogtown:

"Another thing I have been doing, which I hope will be carried on after my death, is the carving of mottoes on the boulders at Dogtown, Gloucester, Massachusetts. My family says that I am defacing the boulders and disgracing the family with these inscriptions, but the work gives me a lot of satisfaction, fresh air, excerise and sunshine. I am really trying to write a simple book with words carved in stone instead of printed paper. Besides, when on Dogtown common, I revert to a boyhood which I once enjoyed when driving cows there many years ago."