Babson Name Places

Babson School

Babson School, an elementary school in Gloucester, was built in 1880. It was the first brick structure in the city, located on Park Street (now Pleasant Street) on the site of an old burial ground.  The school has been converted to an apartment building.

Babson College — Wellesley, Massachusetts

Founded in 1919 by Roger W. Babson, (1875-1967) (tenth generation #230), Babson College is a non-profit private institution with its main campus in Wellesley, Massachusetts with locations in Boston and Miami. The College has 4,000 students and offers undergraduate degrees, several Masters in Business Administration degree programs and in 2025 offered for the first time a Doctor of Business Administration degree.  For almost three decades, the undergraduate and MBA programs have been ranked #1 in entrepreneurship in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings. See here for more on Babson College: www.babson.edu

Isabel Memorial Library – Gloucester, Massachusetts

Located in downtown Gloucester, the Isabel Memorial Library was founded in 1961 by Roger W. Babson in honor of Isabel Babson, the first known Babson in America, who was a midwife and nurse. Established more than 60 years ago, the Library originally focused on midwifery, prenatal care, childbirth and child rearing.  It has broadened its focus over time and now is the repository of over 2,000 volumes. Read more here.

Babson Park Post Office — Wellesley, Massachusetts

There is the small United States Post Office in Babson Park, Wellesley, Massachusetts, next to Babson College.  It has limited hours and has found itself on the “chopping block” for closure in the recent past.

Babson Globe – Wellesley, Massachusetts

The world largest rotating globe was built on the Babson College campus and dedicated in 1955.  Its $200,000 cost was financed by Roger W. Babson (1875-1967) (tenth generation #230)  and his grandson, Roger Babson Webber (1924-1984) (twelfth generation #332i). It measured 28 feet in diameter and weighed 25 tons. It was engineered to rotate on its own axis. In its first years, the Globe attracted thousands of visitors each year and later fell into disrepair.  It was then restored and moved to the center of campus for Babson College’s centennial in 2019. 

Babson Street Names

There are several streets with the Babson name.  There is a Babson Street in Mattapan (part of Boston), Massachusetts; one in Dayton, Ohio; and one in Ash, North Carolina. There is a Dr. Osman Babson Road and a Babson Street, both in Gloucester.  There is a Roger Babson Road in Orlando, Florida.  Babson Ridge Lane in Brooklin, Maine is the site of the “high land” acquired by Capt. Joseph Babson (fifth generation #20) (1731-1815) who was the first Babson to settle in the East Penobscot Bay area in what is now the State of Maine.

Babson Reservoir – Gloucester, Massachusetts

The Babson Reservoir was built in 1932 from land purchased by Roger W. Babson (tenth generation #230) in 1927.  The 1,150 acres encompassed much of Dogtown in Gloucester.  He donated the land to the City of Gloucester in memory of his father, Nathaniel Babson (9^th generation #151), and his grandfather., Gustavus (eighth generation #85).  Roger sold the small portion located in the Town of Rockport to that town for a “very reasonable amount.”  The land forms the watershed for the Reservoir which remains as one of the two main sources of water for the City. The reservoir was named in honor of the Babson gift.

Babson Farm Quarry – Rockport, Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry, now part of Halibut Point State Park, is located in Rockport, Massachusetts, at the tip of Cape Ann.  David Wallis Babson (1772-1850), (seventh generation #55) bought a 1799 farm house with approximately 80 acres there in 1819. A 12 acre parcel was carved out and his son, Joseph (1809-1878) (eighth generation #101), a fisherman and stone cutter, bought the property from his siblings in 1853 with the intention of organizing a stone cutting business.  By that time, the quarrying of granite in Rockport rivaled fishing as the premier industry in the area.  The demand for granite was high and it was shipped the world over.

The Rockport Granite Company bought the quarry as part of its industrial-scale mining and shipping business. The business thrived until 1929 when the quarry was shut down.  The Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts bought some of the land in 1934 and the state bought the remaining land in 1981 in order to create Halibut State Park.

Babson Boulders — Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Dogtown, an abandoned settlement located in the middle of Cape Ann, has 26 boulders chiseled with inscriptions such as Stay out Debt; Never Try, Never Win; and Use Your Head.     Roger W. Babson and his cousin, Gustavus Babson, purchased much of the land located in Dogtown at the turn of the last century.  During the Depression, Roger hired unemployed stone masons to carve the mottos onto the boulders. Trails lead to them—it is a treasure hunt to find them all.  See more here.

Big and Little Babson Islands — Penobscot Bay, Maine

Little and Big Babson Islands are located in Eggemoggin Reach off Naskeag Point in Brooklin, Maine.  Little Babson Island is privately owned. For many decades a guest house was located there.  Big Babson Island was acquired by the Maine Coastal Heritage Trust in 2011 and is open to the public for hiking and picnicking. Captain Joseph Babson (fifth generation #20)(1731-1815) moved from Gloucester and  settled on Babson’s Ridge in 1773 from where the islands are visible.

There are several small cemeteries that bear the Babson name in Brooklin and Brooksville, Maine. {link to the cemeteries in East Penobscot Bay.}, one in Ash, North Carolina and one on Babson College property in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

The one on Babson College property is the resting place for Roger W. Babson (1875-1967) (tenth generation #230), the founder of Babson College (and the founder of the Babson Historical Association) and his two wives: Grace Margaret (Knight) (1872-1956) and Nona Margaret (Dougherty )(1889-1963). See here for his profile.