WESTBOROUGH, Mass. - A Westborough teen is going above and beyond for his Eagle Scout project by digging up a piece of his hometown’s history.

For years, a stone marker bearing the name of Westborough’s first European settler John Oldham had been partially buried on private property near West Main Street.

The monument commemorates Oldham’s travels along the Old Connecticut Path, which is a historic Native American trail.

“Having driven this road for a number of years, when it was buried in the ground, you weren’t really aware of what it was,” said Damien Knox, scout master for Troop 100 Westborough.

Hunter Felton, a rising high school senior and Eagle Scout-hopeful, saw an opportunity to restore the monument’s glory that had been slowly sunken away by gravity.

“When I was looking for a project, I really wanted a project that stood out from other projects,” Felton said. “A lot of people do bog bridges or cleaning up around plants… Those are awesome projects. I just wanted something that would be long-lasting and have something that people would enjoy.”

Felton first heard the idea from Westborough’s town moderator, who brought it up to him well over a year ago. For Felton, the project has certainly been a lesson in patience.

“The main thing was to get contact with the homeowners, and so that happened right after December of last year,” Felton said. “We established contact with them. They’re really nice people, they’re awesome. Then, we needed to figure out what we were going to do for this project.”

After getting approval from the homeowners, Felton worked together with the Westborough Department of Public Works and the Historical Commission to come up with a plan.

The monument had been sitting in the homeowners’ front lawn, so they decided to move it 75 feet away, closer to the street and away from their house.

“There were 10 or 11 of us, all there in one day, and it was really cool to see,” Felton said. “When you actually saw it come out of the ground, we found bricks in there from we don’t even know how long ago… And the size, you see the stone on the ground right now, but there’s so much more that’s under the ground too. It’s probably a good three feet under.”

As an avid viewer of television shows that focus on discovering long-lost artifacts and other treasures, the whole experience was a thrill for Felton.

“It was uncovering history, which is something really cool,” Felton said.

He hopes to clean up the stone over the coming weeks, and is grateful for the assistance of everyone involved, including a handful of fellow scouts.

Now in the process of sending in his Eagle Scout application, Hunter has a unique project to showcase, and, of course, very proud parents.

“Hunter has always been a little bit on the quieter side, the shyer side, and scouting in general has really brought him out of his shell,” said Elizabeth Felton. “I credit the scouts for that, it’s just done so much for him.”