Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Midas Tümülüsü (Tumulus MM)
The Devil's Column
Weightlifting Hall of Fame
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The khao soi at Gedhawa comes with a rich, coconutty broth.
Gedhawa
At Nai Mong Hoi Thod, the oyster omelet is worth waiting for.
Nai Mong Hoi Thod
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
3 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
4 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
5 days ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
6 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Massachusetts Worcester Deed Rock

Deed Rock

This boulder with a 200-word legal dedication to God has remained hidden in the woods for over 150 years.

Worcester, Massachusetts

Added By
David Rondinone
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Deed Rock.   drondinone / Atlas Obscura User
Deed Rock.   drondinone / Atlas Obscura User
Carved lettering.   drondinone / Atlas Obscura User
Reading the rock.   drondinone / Atlas Obscura User
  keithlmoore / Atlas Obscura User
  basil111 / Atlas Obscura User
It is tucked off behind some really large boulders.   e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  keithlmoore / Atlas Obscura User
  keithlmoore / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Take a walk in the woods on Rattlesnake Hill, and you may find yourself stumbling across a massive rock with a hefty chunk of legal reading material carved onto its flat surface.

In 1840, a man named Solomon Parsons Junior, the religious grandson of a reverend, bought a 10-acre plot of land. He paid $125 for the wooded lot, located in the hills of Worcester, Massachusetts. Instead of constructing a home on the property, he concocted grand plans to build a temple atop it and dedicated the land to God.

Though still symbolic, he cemented his decision with a legal dedication rather than a solely spiritual one. He had a 200-word deed etched into a large boulder, where he stated that in exchange for the money he had paid William Hall, the previous owner of the land, the property now legitimately belonged to God through “The laws of Jesus Christ.”

Parsons was a Millerite, a member of a group of people who believed the world would catastrophically end in 1844. He planned to use the 10 acres as a refuge to help survive the end of times, and became a pacifist and vegetarian (who even refused to use items like leather and horse hair) in preparation for the Second Coming.

Parsons died at the age of 93. Houses and apartments now surround the hill, and the rugged temple he built has since crumbled and decayed. But Deed Rock and God’s 10 Acres, the nearby woods, remain. Though now well over 100 years old, the inscription on the boulder is still legible.

The transcript of Deed Rock is as follows, complete with errors:

“KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS THAT I WILLIAM G HALL OF WORCESTER IN THE OUNTY OF WORCESTER AND COMMONWELTH OF MASS IN CONSIDERATION OF 125 DOL PAID BY THE HAND OF SOLOMON PARSONS OF THE SAME WORCESTER THE RECEIPT WHERE OF I DO HEAREBY ACKNOWLEDGE DO HEAREBY GIVE GRANT SELL AND CONVAY UNTO GOD THROUGH THE LAWS OF JESUS CHRIST WHICH ARE MADE KNOWN TO MAN BY THE RECKORD OF THE TESTAMENT RECORDED BY MATHEW MARK LUKE JOHN THE EVANGELIST THIS LAND TO GOVERND BY THE ABOVE MENTIONED LAWS AND TOGATHER WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD THE SAID TRACT OF LAND IS SITUATED IN WORCESTER ABOVE MENTIONED THE SOUTH WESTERLY PART CONTAINING TEN ACRES MORE OR LESS BOUNDED AS FOLLOWS VIZ BEGINNING AT THE SOUTHWEST OF THE LOT AT A STAKE AND STONES BY LAND OF E DANIELS THENSE EASTERLY BY LAND OF S PERRY ABOUT 97 1/2 RODS TO A CORNER OF THE FENCE THENCE NORTHERLY BY LAND OF ABOUT 54 RODS TO A CORNER OF I FOWLER ABOUT 24 RODS A CHESTNUT TREE IN THE WALL AT THE CORNER THE LAND OF SAID DANIELS AND A HEAP OF STONES BY THE SIDE OF THENCE SOUTHERLY TO THE BOUNDS FIRST MENTIONED”

Related Tags

Rocks Religion Law Apocalypse Hidden 19th Century Geology Sacred Spaces

Know Before You Go

Swan Ave is a long, narrow dirt road. If you know where to go, it is barely off the road and a quick hike through the woods. There is no parking. The road is narrow. Wear long pants. There is poison ivy, ticks, and flying bugs, such as mosquitos and gnats so plan accordingly.

Community Contributors

Added By

drondinone

Edited By

e1savage, keithlmoore, basil111

  • e1savage
  • keithlmoore
  • basil111

Published

September 29, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Deed Rock
Swan Ave
Worcester, Massachusetts
United States
42.259146, -71.861714
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Spider Gates Cemetery

Leicester, Massachusetts

miles away

Sigmund Freud Statue

Worcester, Massachusetts

miles away

Lois Lane

Worcester, Massachusetts

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Worcester

Worcester

Massachusetts

Places 11
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Spider Gates Cemetery

Leicester, Massachusetts

miles away

Sigmund Freud Statue

Worcester, Massachusetts

miles away

Lois Lane

Worcester, Massachusetts

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Worcester

Worcester

Massachusetts

Places 11
Stories 2

Related Places

  • “The seats”

    San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

    Silla de Felipe II (Phillip II’s Chair)

    According to tradition, King Phillip II supervised construction of the seat of his empire from this seat carved into rock.

  • Roque Idafe.

    La Palma, Spain

    Roque Idafe (Idafe Rock)

    Indigenous cultures believed all life would end if this enormous rock toppled.

  • Virgin Wall at Penitente Canyon.

    Del Norte, Colorado

    Madonna of Penitente Canyon

    A mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe painted on the rock wall by canyon's religious namesake.

  • Garments on Eej Khad.

    Sergelen, Mongolia

    Eej Khad (Mother Rock)

    Buddhist pilgrims journey to this sacred rock to leave offerings and have their wishes granted.

  • Buduruwagala, Sri Lanka

    Buduruwagala

    Seven beautiful 1,000-year-old rock-cut Buddhist statues.

  • The Chapel in the Crag

    Knaresborough, England

    Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag

    A 600-year-old mini shrine guarded by a sword-wielding knight hides in a crumbling cliff face.

  • Entrance to the Cave of the Coffins.

    Kiryat Tiv'on, Israel

    Beit She'arim Necropolis

    A sprawling ancient Jewish cemetery with over 30 rock-hewn burial caves.

  • Scriptures engraved on the rocks.

    Brookville, Pennsylvania

    Scripture Rocks Heritage Park

    Dozens upon dozens of boulders engraved with scripture tell the story of one man's troubled life.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.