CHAPTER FIVE
POST-CONTACT PERIOD CULTURAL CONTEXT
This chapter focuses on exploration and settlement in the Boston area by Europeans and on the subsequent
development of the greater Boston area. The synopsis of development in the communities of Boston
including its various neighborhoods, Brookline, Can1bridge, Chelsea, Everett, Medford, and Somerville
provides a context in which to assess the archaeological sensitivity of the Urban Ring Corridor. The
infOlmation for this context has been drawn from the results of professional CRM surveys, through a
review of state site files at the MHC, post-contact period cultural histories, site-specific histories, and
the collections of avocational archaeologists. The post-contact periods for Southern New England are
divided into distinct temporal subdivisions as summarized in Table 5-1.
Boston
Plantation Period (A.D. 1620-1675)
No map or accurate description of the Shawmut peninsula pre-dating European settlement of the area
has been identified to date. Reprinted historical accounts and Clough's early-twentieth-century
reconstruction map, however, indicate that the peninsula was about 2-miles long and I-mile wide with
a hilly topography dotted with ponds, springs, marshes, and coves. Numerous early accounts mention
that the land was covered with scrub growth and few trees (Fischer 2000). The peninsula was connected
to the mainland by a low, nalTOW neck (Figure 5-1). Dorchester Neck was a separate peninsula, similar
in topography that diverged from the mainland south of the narrowest portion of the Boston Neck. The
entire area was interlaced with inlets, creeks, and rivers draining into broad tidal flats that edged the
landforms.
One of the more notable topographical features was the range of three hills rum1ing east to west tlu'ough
the center ofthe peninsula. Refen'ed to collectively as the Trimountain, the ridge comprised Pembelion
(or Cotton) Hill on the east, Beacon Hill in the center, and Mount Vernon on the west. Cotton Hill and
Mount Vernon effectively were razed during the nineteenth century to provide soil for the val'ious
landmaking effOlis undeliaken during that period, leaving Beacon Hill as the sole remnal1t of the once
prominent landmark. Smaller rises also dotted the peninsula, including Fox Hill at the foot of Boston
Common.
After the alTival ofthe Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620, the so-called "Old Proprietors" established isolated
homesteads around the Shawnmt. The Boston al'ea was formally settled in 1630, when the Massachusetts
Bay Company settled in Charlestown, and shortly thereafter crossed the Charles River and erected
crude temporary shelters on the Shawmut peninsula, renamed Boston. Other members of the company
settled small towns in Dorchester, Newtowne (Cambridge), Watertown, and other surrounding areas.
54
PAL Report No. 1396.01
Table 5-1.
General Period'
Post-Contact Cultural Chronology for Massachusetts :
Cultural Aspects/Diagnostic Cultural Material
Contact &
Plantatiun
1500-1675
Initial European exploration and eonLaet with Native American population. Native core areas established along major river drainages connected by extensive overland trail
system. Increasing interaction introduced European diseases and material culture, allered nalive culture and society, and led to encroachment on native lands. Increasing
numbers of Native Americans abandoned traditionallifcstyles, many living in John Eliot's "praying towns." Extcnsivc immigration of Puritan sClllers to newly cstablished
pernmnent selliemcnts beginning with coasLaltowns (e.g., Plymouth 1620, Boston 1630, Rehobotll 1645, Swansea 1668). Agriculture, fishing, and smaJllocal industry fornled
basis of economy. Early ironworks erectcd (c.g., Raynham ca. 1656; Saugus ca 1645). Waterways and native trails provided major tmnsponation routes.
Majolica, early tin-glaze earUlcnware, Rhennish and Bellarmine stonewares predominate eeranlie assemblage. Pipeslems witll mean bore diameter of7-9/64ths inch.
Ilandwrought nails only. Frecbluwn glass bottles, pontil scar, no mold mark.
Colonial
1675-1775
European selllcment and expansion, curtailed by Native American conniets (especially King Philip's War 1675-76). continued aller cessation of hostilities. Agriculture and raw
material collection remained principal cconomic activity in pcriphcral arcas. Industrial and commercial pursuits (e.g., distilling, shipbuilding, cmlls, trade, etc.) focused in urban
and coastal arcas. Boston developed as cmerging regional core. Intracoastal and international trade witll otller colonies, Europe, Africa. and Wcst1ndies (i.e.• "trianglc tradc" in
sugar and molasses, rum and slaves) prospered. Massachusetts colonists, angered by British economic restrictions (e.g., Stanlp Act 1770, Townshend Acts 1767), rebelled in
Boston Massacre (1770), Boston Tca Party (1773), and finally started fighting at Lexington and Concord (April 1775).
Imponed tin-glaze earthenware, white Salt-glaze, English brown, Westerwald and scratch-blue sloncwarcs. Imponed and domestic rcdwares. Mean pipcslcm bore diamctcr of
4-6/64 inch. J-landwrought nails only. Frccblown and molded gluss bollies.
Federal
1775-1830
Creamware and pearlware predominate cemmie assemblage. Handpainted and transfer print deeoraled. Small bore diameter (4/64 in.) pipestems. Both handwrought and
machine cut nails. Post 1810 3-piece molded bOllles introduced. f-irsttin cans (post 1819).
~
t-..
:::0
~
~
...;.
~
.......
\Q
Vv
?>
c:>
.......
Maritimc commerce inerea~ed following Peace of Paris (1783) ending Revolutionary War, including development of trade witll China. Trade and economy sulTered due to
Embargo Act (1807) and War of 1812. Agriculture remained basis of rural economy. Shift from agriculture to industrial based economy began witll improvements of water
power technology and dcvelopment of new mill privileges. Villages grew around rural mills to house workers. Development of road networks with advent of tum pikes. Coastal
and riverine roules remained imponanttransponation linkages. Construction of canals, such as Middlesex Canal in 1790s which provided additionaltransponation link between
Boston and Merrimack Valley.
• Source: MHC
."
oen
'i"
n
o
::l
.....
PJ
~
."
(1)
.....
o'
0­
n
c
2
.....
PJ
n
o
::l
.....
VI
VI
(1)
~
VI
0\
Table 5-1. cont'd.
n
=:r
ll:l
"0
.......
....
(l)
~
t-<
Early Industrial
1830-1870
~
~
:2
..;.
~
Pearlware, hard white earUlenware, yellowware, and domestic sloneware mOSl common. Transfer print design technique predominates. Machine cut nails predominate. 2-pieee mold
bOltles replace 3-pieee mold bollies (post 1840). Snap-case botlle bOltom finish, no pontil scar (pOSl 1857). Ma~on jar patented 1858. 1867 lellered panel bollies introduced. Pressed or
sandwich-type glass (post 1827). Condensed milk can patented 1856. Vulcanization process palcntcd by Goodyear (1839) resulted in increased production of rubber products.
.....
\Q
Vv
~
a.....
Introduction of railroads (ea 1835) revolutioni:led transportation network. Small lines consolidated during period, carrying passengers and freight Ulroughout region. Decline in
agriculture linked lO emigration of farmers to newly opened westem territories and to factory and mill jobs, and due to decline in market caused by arrival of westem produce via
railroads. Civil War (1861-1865) generated major expansion of manufactures, including textiles, metal working, machinery, and shoe and boot industry. Deeline in callan supply due to
war embargoes caused many mills to e10se or convert to manufacture of woolen goods or worsteds. Large scale immigralion (especially from Ireland and Germany) generally to work in
mills. Shin from whale oil to petroleum led to decline in whaling fisheries .
Late Industrial
1870 - 1915
Modern
1915 - present
Technological developments resulted in major changes (e.g., steam power, electrification, gas lighting, elc.). Development of urban and interurban mass transportation, street railways
and elevated lines (i.e., Boston subway system 1895-1912), resulled in growlll of suburban communities. Arrival of large numbers of immigranls, especially from eastern and southern
Europe and French Canadians. Expansion and development of large scale industrial concerns (e.g., Lowell and Fall River mills). Introduction of cranberry cullivation, primarily in
PlymouUl County (ca. 1878). Beginnings ofsummcr and resort development in coastal areas. I-lard while earthenwarc predominales ceramic assemblage wilh ycllowware and domestic
Sloneware. Machine-made bottles most common. Semi-automatic botlling machine (post 1881); replaced by fully aUlomatie machine made bollies (post 1903). HUlchinson stopper (post
1872/9); canning jar closure (pOSlI875); crown bollie cap (post 1892). 1904 double-seamed tin can introduced.
Decline of mill industry during Great Depression (1930s), temporarily reversed by World War II, then decline conlinued following war. Introduelion of automobile and major
improvements in automobile transportation network (e.g., Interstates 84, 90, 95, and 495 and Roule 128). Agriculture remains important in rural economy with markel gardens shipping
produce to urban areas. Slale's textile and shoe industry decline aner World War II onset by growth ofprofessionaJ and service industries (e.g., banking, computer, defense-relaled, ele.),
mainly located along improved transportation corridors. Gradual decline of urban core areas with suburbani<:alion of hinterlands.
Hard white earthenware, stoneware. porcelains, and melanline (post WWII). All bOllies fully automatic machine-made. Purple manganese glass. Beer can introduced 1935. Pull-tab can
opening introduced 1962. Plastic products (post 1900).
'Tj
<'
(l)
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Plantation Period Setflement
Location ot Old Planters
1625
A. Thomas Morton
1626
B, David Thompson
1627
C. Samuel Maverick
c1628
D. William Blackstone
c1628
E. Thomas Walford
1628
F. James Pemberton
1630
G. John Oldham
c1630
H, Craddock Farm
o
o
Location of Native Sites
1. Possible site of Nanepashemet's
village. c.1619; also Sagamore
John's village. c.1630
2. Sagamore John's village at
Winnisimmett. c.1630
3, Village where Thomas Walford
lived. c,1629
4. Palisaded village at Muddy
River. c,1632
Chickatabot's village. c.1630
Approximate
Urban Ring Corridor
Figure 5-1. Plantation Period settlement with approximate location of Urban Ring Corridor (source:
MHC 1982b).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
57
Chapter Five
The founding of Boston by the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1630 brought the first significant groups
of settlers to the area and by 1634, the number of freemen in the town was said to be 350.
Small, swampy, and hilly, the Shawmut peninsula was a less than ideal choice for the establishment of
an agrarian-based economy. What Boston did possess was a harbor "deep enough for the largest vessels
from across the sea to anchor near the peninsula yet shallow enough along the shoreline of the Great
Cove (Dock Square) to allow easy construction of wharves and piers" (Ruttman 1965Rutman 1965 ).
By virtue ofthe harbor and its strong cultural and economic ties to London, Boston became the distribution
center for New England's mercantile trade. When England's 1641 civil war disrupted this trade, the
Massachusetts Bay Company opened lucrative trading routes to the West Indies. By the 1670s, Boston's
maritime trade extended to the British Isles, continental Europe, and the West Indies (MHC 1982b).
This formed the Triangle Trade oflumber and produce from NOlthAmerica, finished goods from England,
and sugar and molasses from the West Indies.
New construction and improvements to Boston's irrfi:astructure during this period included a wharf
area established at Dock Square, a cemetery, a windmill on Copps Hill (constructed 1632), and
fortifications on FOlt Hill (1632). By 1634, the town common lands had been established on the west
side of the peninsula for use as pastureland for cattle. In the mid-seventeenth century, the NOlth End
area was settled, which provided the impetus for the construction of a meetinghouse at NOlth Square in
1650. Throughout the period, Native American trails were improved and supplemented with new
streets to connect the settlements scattered about the peninsula. By 1631, fenies had also been established
to connect the peninsula with Charlestown and Chelsea.
AUston/North Brighton
Prior to English settlement in Brighton in 1647-1649, the area known as Oak Square, had been the site
of the Praying Indian Village of Nonantum, established by John Elliot in 1646. The lands comprising
the present-day Allston-Brighton section of Boston and Newton had been assigned to Watertown in
1630 (Brighton Allston Historical Society 2005b). The first land grant to an English settler was comprised
of 30 acres near the present-day Newton/Brighton boundary line. By 1633 the General COUlt had
established a fen)' between Wateltown and the south side of the Charles River later known as Little
Can1bridge (became Allston-Brighton). Area residents used this service to travel to church and to the
local seat of government located in Harvard Square.
Following the removal ofthe Praying Indian Village to Natick in 1650 English settlement ofthe area on
the south side of the Charles River increased considerably. The RoxbUl)' Highway (Washington Street)
had been laid out in the 1630s as the first major route cOlmecting Cambridge with Boston. This major
route became the focus of a network of converging roads including Market and Faneuil streets, which
were laid out in 1656. The construction of the first Great Bridge, connecting Little Cambridge with
Cambridge in 1661, fmther facilitated settlement of the area. By 1688 the Newton settlement seceded
from Cambridge, leaving Little Can1bridge as the only remaining portion of Cambridge south of the
Charles River (Brighton Allston Historical Society 2005a).
58
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Charlestown
European settlement began in Charlestown with the establishment of a blacksmith shop by Thomas
Walford about 1625. In 1629 Jolm Winthrop, the designated Governor ofthe Massachusetts Bay Colony,
selected Charlestown, nan1ed after Prince Charles of England, as the seat of government and occupied
the Great House. Within several months of their arrival, sickness, scarce food, and an inadequate
supply of fresh water caused many colonists to settle around the Shawmut, renamed Boston. After the
depal1ure of Governor Winthrop, the Great House was converted to a meetinghouse and in 1635 beca111e
a tavern (MHC 1980c).
The development of Charlestown in the seventeenth centmy was slow, though typical for the colonies.
Native American trails were improved to highway use by the middle of the centmy, and new roads had
begun to be developed by the late 1600s. The Great Ferry facilitated transpOliation to Boston with its
establishment in 1631. A second ferry operated between Charlestown and Malden beginning in 1640.
Settlement was concentrated within the town grid plan laid out by Thomas Graves under the
Massachusetts Bay Company. The civic center of the settlement was established at Town Square, with
the commercial focus at the area of Town Dock cove. Fortifications were made on Town Hill and at
Moultons Point during the l630s (MHC 1980c).
In 1633, the population of Charlestown was measured at 58 men, most of whom had families living
with them. Though data is not available for the remainder ofthe centmy, it is estimated that the population
may have reached as high as 500 (MHC 1980c). Farming and building were the primary concerns of
the populous of Charlestown during the first decades of the seventeenth century, though by the 1640s,
commerce had been filmly established in the town. Francis Willoughby constructed the first shipyard
in Charlestown in 1641, just as the seafaring pursuits of whaling and fishing were becoming extremely
impOliant to the town. By the 1640s commercial businesses and trades connected with maritime trading,
including coopers, ropemakers, and anchor smiths, were established in Charlestown. Shipbuilding
also began and the first drydock in the country was built in the 1670s (MHC 1980c).
Dorchester
The town of Dorchester was established by the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1630, the Sa111e year
that Boston was established. Throughout the seventeenth centuly, its borders were established and
altered in agreements with Roxbury, Dedham, and Milton. The villages of Hyde Park and Mattapan
were contained within Dorchester at the time of the founding of the town.
An English presence in the Dorchester area was first known in the l620s, when individual fur traders
occupied the area sporadically. The first European settlers to the area followed in 1630 and established
a community at Savin Hill. The 140 persons were emigrants from England's Devon, Dorset, and
Somerset counties, arriving as passengers aboard the ship Mary and John. By 1654, there were 140
dwelling houses in the community, al1d by 1663, more than 200 had been constructed (MHC 1980b).
The site of Savin Hill was chosen for the settlement at least partially because it allowed easy access to
abundant pasturelands on Boston Neck. Residents ofDorchester al'e said to be the first to take advantage
of the Dorchester Bay as a fishing ground, due in pari to the lack of an alewife run nearby. A gristmill
PAL Report No. 1936.01
59
Chapter Five
was established about 1634 in the southern part of the town, at Lower Falls, on the Neponset River. A
second mill, operated by tidal action, was established at Commercial Point during the 1640s. The early
settlers improved the native trails in the seventeenth century, with meetinghouse center (modem Edward
Everett Square) as the terminus of many of the regional highways (MHC 1980b).
East Boston
The area of East Boston, originally separated from the mainland and known as Noddles Island, was
settled for the first time in 1630, when large farm estates were granted to settlers. Boston residents used
Hog Island as a grazing pasture during the seventeenth century and into the eighteenth (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
The town ofRoxbury was established by the Massachusetts Bay Company on a hill above Boston Neck
in 1630, with a defensive position and a meetinghouse constructed soon after settlement. The village
focus was at present-day Eliot Square. Its original borders were set in 1630, though these were altered
multiple times through the many annexations and land forfeitures that the area underwent between the
1830s and 1880s (MHC 1981b).
Roxbury was primarily agricultural in the early years, its fields extending west into Jamaica Plain and
south into West Roxbury. Early industrial ventures, including a gristmill constructed in 1633, were
sited along Stony Brook. TranspOliation routes in the town were centered at the meetinghouse, though
the most heavily traveled route was the road across Boston Neck and into Boston Proper. Other roads
branched off from Roxbury to Dorchester, Dedham, and Braintree (MHC 1981 b).
Colonial Period (1675-1775)
By the end ofthe seventeenth century, the port ofBoston had become a center ofregional and international
commerce and, with the building of Long Wharf in 1710, emerged as the most impOliant British port in
NOlihAmerica (Figure 5-2). In addition to its thriving mercantile economy, the town also served as the
social and political center for outlying areas. Yet several factors inhibited its growth, including the
limited availability of natural resources from the agricultural hinterland and the drain on the town's
resources inherent in its colonial relationship to Britain (Mrozowski 1985). After mid-centw.y, the
town's population actually declined, with new construction contained mostly within the existing
topographical limits of the Shawmut peninsula (Whitehill 1968Whitehill 1968 ).
The sUlTounding towns, including Dorchester, remained largely agricultural; population grew slowly
and there were a few farniliouses along Dorchester Neck. During the Revolutionaty War fortifications
were built at1d used here, especially facing Castle Island, and several houses and farm buildings were
burned.
The peak population in the city during the period was reached in 1743, when, with 16,382 inhabitants,
Boston became the most populated city in the English colonies. The population soon began to drop, as
the Molasses Act of 1733 caused a loss ofjobs and decline in shipbuilding activities. Rampant inflation
60
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Colonial Period Core Areas
o
f)
Q
•
o
Boston urban core
Boston regional core
Local cores
o
Approximate
Urban Ring Corridor
°0 0
o
o
~•
Figure 5-2. Colonial Period core areas with approximate location of Urban Ring Corridor (source:
MHC 1982b).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
61
Chapter Five
during the 1740s, frequent epidemics, and high taxes may also have played a part in the decline, which
dropped Boston to the third most populous city by 1760.
Like its population numbers, seafating trade and allied industries in Boston were stronger at the beginning
of the Colonial Period than in the end. By the eat'ly eighteenth century, Boston was said to be the
principal mart of trade in North America (MHC 1981a). The construction of wharves continued from
the North End to Fort Hill, including Long Wharf, constructed in 1710 and extending 2,000 feet into
Boston Harbor, with shipbuilding under way at as mat1Y as 27 yards, including major facilities at Battery
March and North Street.
An increase in open pOltS in the Caribbean led to the development of rum manufacture in Boston,
elevating it to the town's principal product in the early eighteenth century. By the 1740s, Boston-based
trade and shipbuilding began to decline. At least partially responsible was increased inflation and the
Molasses Act, which increased taxes on molasses and thus greatly decreased legal trade with the
Caribbean. Lat'ger blows to shipping catne in the 1760s and 1770s, when revenue taxes and the tightening
of customs controls nllther limited the viability of trade from Boston. The end of the Colonial Period
saw the ultimate failure of the system when, from 1775 through 1776, the port of Boston was closed
completely by the British government.
AUston/North Brighton
By 1750 the total population of what is now known as the Arlington/Catnbridge/Brighton area was
about 1,500 inhabitants, of which about half probably resided in what is now Cambridge (MHC n.d.).
Before the Revolution, Little Catnbridge was a prosperous farming community of fewer than 300
residents. Throughout the eighteenth century, the Little Cambridge area, west of the Cambridge town
center around Hat'vard Square, was increasingly settled by the formation oflarge rural estates by Boston
elite. These residents included Nathaniel Cunningham, Benjamin Faneuil, and Charles Apthorp.
Cunninghatn and Faneuil were wealthy Boston merchants. Apthorp was paymaster of British land
forces in NOlthAmerica. All three maintained elaborate country estates in Little Catnbridge during the
second half of the eighteenth century (Marchione 2005a).
In 1775 Little Cambridge becatne the site of a cattle market to supply the Continental Army, then
headquartered across the Charles River in Harvard Square. The business was established by John
Winship I and II, father and son, in Little Cat11bridge because of its location just outside of Boston and
on the main road (then Watertown Highway, now Washington Street) linking the urban area to the
westem farmlands (Mat'chione 2005c).
Charlestown
Charlestown's maritime and commercial productivity expanded during the Colonial Period. Shipping
and shipping trades continued and industries including distilling, sugar refining, tanning, and leather
processes developed. The town's impOltance as a port fueled economic growth, which led to the
construction of new civic buildings including a new meetinghouse in 1719 and a courthouse in 1734.
Charlestown also developed as an importat1t center of craft production, especially in redware pottery.
Locally available deposits of blue glacial clay along the Mystic River provided ample raw material to
62
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
support an extensive number of potteries. Charlestown dominated the industry in New England and
provided "Charlestown ware" for most of the region (MHC 1980c; Pendely et al. 1982; Pendery et al.
1984). With the success of its shipping and its rapidly developing manufacturing economy, Charlestown
became the leading industrial port in the colony in the eighteenth centmy (MHC 1980c).
Due in part to the prosperous industrial and trade economies of Charlestown, the population began to
expand at a more rapid pace. By 1765, the combined population of Somerville and Charlestown reached
2,048 persons, ofwhich, it is estimated that between 1,700 and 1,800 lived on the Charlestown peninsula.
The population had declined slightly by 1775, to 2,000 persons (MHC 1980c).
Increasing constraints imposed by England to support overseas wars led to colonial tension and revolts
including the StanlpAct Riots in 1765, the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the Boston Tea Party in 1773.
In response, England imposed the Boston Port Bill in 1774 shutting down Boston Harbor to traffic and
trade until the damages and duties from the Boston Tea Party were repaid. TIns crippled Boston and
Charlestown's economy. Tensions accelerated when British Troops seized the colony's arsenal at
Charlestown and marched to Lexington and Concord to capture those town's armament stockpiles.
Small battles at both towns began the American Revolution. Charlestown's elevated position would
give it strategic nlilitary importance (NPS 2000; PendelY et al. 1982; Pendery et al. 1984).
Colonial troops mobilized on June 16, 1775 and marched in darkness to Charlestown under Colonel
Willianl Prescott. The original strategy was to build a fOliification at the highest elevation, Bunker Hill
(110 feet). It was decided in the field to build the fOliification on Breed's Hill (62 feet), wInch was
more visible from Boston. After seeing the newly built fortification on Breed's Hill, General Thomas
Gage ordered British artillery from Copp's Hill in Boston and from the warships in the harbor to fire
upon Charlestown. British artillery shells were not able to reach the fortification but did set fire to the
wooden structures of Charlestown and destroyed nearly 400 buildings (MHC 1980c; NPS 2000; Pendery
et al. 1982; PendelY et al. 1984). While some buildings survived the fire, many were later bmned by
American forces in 1776 as a defensive measure. Of the few buildings that survived the war years,
none are known to remain (MHC 1980c).
After repelling two British advances, the colonial militia ran out of ammunition and fled across
Charlestown Neck and into Cambridge. The British took possession of both Breed's and Bunker Hills
but suffered nearly twice the number of casualties as the colonial militia, many of them officers. The
British strengthened the fOliifications on Breed's and Bunker Hills and controlled the hills until March
17, 1776 when all British troops evacuated Boston (NPS 2000; Pendery 1982; Pendery et al. 1984).
Dorchester
Eighteenth-century transpOliation routes were largely based on existing seventeenth-century roadways.
Improvements were made to these and new local roads were laid out as settlements expanded. The
relocation of the town meetinghouse from AlIens Plain to Meeting House Hill in 1679 had begun the
shift of the town center to the latter location. By the late eighteenth centmy, Meeting House Hill had
become the hub of many ofthe town's roadways. Access to Milton was improved with the construction
of a bridge across the Neponset River at Mattapan in 1733 (MHC 1980b).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
63
Chapter Five
The beginnings of industrial development at both Hyde Park and Lower Mills were the cause ofpopulation
growth in the two neighborhoods. At Hyde Park, the Clark Paper Mill was established in 1733, while
the chocolate industry reached across the Neponset from Milton, with a mill established at Lower Falls
in 1770. In Mattapan, the first mill at the Upper Falls had been established in 1709, while at Commercial
Point and Port Norfolk, on the shores of Dorchester Bay, the shipbuilding trade was active throughout
the eighteenth century. Elsewhere in Dorchester, agriculture was the primary focus, with fishing at
Dorchester Bay continuing to provide a supplemental resource (MHC 1980b).
The population ofDorchester continued to grow throughout the eighteenth century, though slowly. The
1765 population of approximately 1,360 persons grew to 1,722 persons by 1790. Population growth
continued to be focused at Meeting House Hill, though with growth also occuning at the Hyde Park
and Lower Mills areas.
East Boston
During the eighteenth century, Noddles Island continued largely as farmland. No more than one or two
families had settled on the island by the days of the American Revolution. A highway connected the
homes of the families with Hog Island, and a bridge and ford across Chelsea Creek allowed access to
Chelsea. A tide mill was constructed on back cove, though the focus of the community was at a wharf
between Camp and Smith hills (MHC 1980a).
Two mansion houses and a few small tenant cottages existed on Smith and Eagle hills at the time of the
drawing ofa map ofthe island in 1775. Later that year, just before the Battle of Bunker Hill, all ofthese
buildings were burned by the Colonial Army to prevent their use by the British forces. In conjunction
with this eff0l1, fortified earthworks were constructed at Camp Hill in 1776. As compensation for the
destruction of the building stock of the island, the American Army moved its banacks to Noddles
Island in 1775, where it remained as the only dwelling until 1833 (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
The population of Roxbury grew slowly during the eighteenth century, reaching only 1,493 by 1765,
the majority of whom lived at the northem end of the town. Elsewhere in the town, country estates
were constructed for prominent men from Boston. Roxbury remained an agricultural town during the
eighteenth century, with its famls supplying produce for both Roxbury and Boston. The town focus
remained at Eliot Square, though a secondary settlement had developed at Jamaica Pond at the end of
the seventeenth century (MHC 1981 b).
Commercial activity was centered at Dudley Square (the junction of Washington, Dudley, and WalTen
streets), at the southem end ofBoston Neck. By the early pat1 ofthe eighteenth centUly, milling enterprises
had expanded to present-day Boylston and Center streets, in addition to those concems still operating at
the original sites along Stony Brook. In total, two gristmills and one chocolate mill now operated in the
town. Clock making and tanning, two industries important to the development of Roxbury, were started
in the eighteenth century. The Willards began making clocks in Roxbury in 1773. The tanning industry
developed over an extended period, beginning in small shops. By 1780, eighteen tanning houses atld
slaughterhouses had been established in Roxbury to supply Boston's growing shoemaking trade (MHC
1981 b).
64
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Federal Period (1775-1830)
During the Federal Period, Boston emerged as the primary regional urban center of New England
(Figure 5-3). Commerce, transpOliation, and governmental affairs increasingly concentrated in the
town, and in 1822 a city chaIier replaced the town form of government. The return of a stable trade
balance after the reopening of the port of Boston brought the town back to the forefront of what was
then American shipping. By 1777, the economy of Boston was said to be stronger than at the start of
the war. In the first half of the 1780s, speculation on impOlied goods led to a depression in the local
economy, and a temporary lull at manufacturing facilities in the commonwealth. The opening of trade
with Canton and the East Indies in the 1790s revitalized Boston trade, and brought demand for the
construction of more ships in Boston yards.
While industries linked to shipbuilding continued to increase, a number of other types of businesses
also began in Boston during this period, providing a more diverse industrial base. Founded in 1787, the
Boston Glass House began producing quality glass in 1793. Increased taxes on fmished products from
Europe led to the establishment of a calico printing company in the 1790s. Among other industries
established during the period were the production of beaver hats, hard and soft soap, paper hanging,
and spermaceti candles. Existing industries continued throughout the period, including boot and shoe
manufacture, rum distillation, and cabinet making. New processes for manufacturing tallow candles,
cards, and chocolate also made their manufacture more profitable. Provisions merchants, meat packers,
sail makers, ship chandlers, and hide and leather and boot and shoe merchants continued to produce
goods for trade at the waterfront.
Boston's industrial development continued throughout the early nineteenth century, despite the EmbaI'go
of 1807 and the War of 1812. Both events aided the American industrial system by decreasing the
amount of foreign goods available in the United States. The cabinet making industry spawned the
manufacture of pianos before 1806. Carriages, unavailable from England during the war, were
constructed in Boston beginning about 1813. Ropewalks were still present, as was the City Mills flour
mill. Boston's heavy industry was also developed during the period, with the completion of the Mill
Dam in 1821. The Boston Iron Company was in production by 1821, aI1d Holmes Hinckley (later
Boston Locomotive Works) had begun constructing stationary steam engines by 1826.
Transportation advancements during the period aided in the development of Boston's economy by
linking it to sWTow1ding towns and markets. Turnpikes were laid out as roads were developed at the
edges of the town. In Boston Proper, street improvements were made along the waterfront as new land
was created by filling tidal flats. In 1804, the Middlesex Canal was completed, cOlmecting the Charles
River, in Charlestown, to the Menimack River, near Lowell. The ChaI'les River Bridge, constructed in
1785-1786, cOlmected Boston to the industrial town of ChaI·lestown. In 1793, the West Boston Bridge
connected across the Charles River to Cambridge, and made a straight route from the town center to the
center of Cambridge. Additional bridges cOill1ected Boston to South Boston in 1805, to East Cambridge
across the ChaI'les River Dam in 1809, to the Back Bay across the Back Bay Mill DaI11 in 1821, and to
ChaI'lestown in 1828, and to South Boston in 1828. TranspOliation over these new roads and bridges at
the begim1ing of the Federal Period was by suburban stage, while hourly omnibus operation was
established by the 1820s.
PAL Report No. 1936.01
65
Chapter Five
Federal Period Core Areas
e
•o•
Local Core
Boston Central Core
Boston Urban Core
Boston Regional. Core
Emerging Core Area
o
Approximate
.Urban Ring Corridor
°00
o
Figure 5-3. Federal Period core areas with approximate location of Urban Ring Corridor (source: MHC
1982b).
66
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
The growing economy of Boston meant more residents within its borders. In the first 35 years of the
Federal Period, from 1775-1810, the population of Boston doubled, from 16,000 to 32,896 persons.
The last 20 years of the period saw the population almost double again, reaching 61,392 by 1830. With
the growing population, the need for buildable land increased throughout the town. As a result, in the
last qUalter of the eighteenth and the first quarter of the nineteenth century, many ofthe prominent hills
were leveled, alld their gravel used to fill the marshes and coves to accommodate the increasing population
(Seasholes 2003). In 1799, the top 60 feet of Mount Vernon was removed to create lots, and the earth
removed was used to fill tidal marshes. In 1804, Beacon Hill was truncated, with its removed fill going
into NOlth Cove. An ambitious development scheme conmlenced on Dorchester Neck, which was
annexed as South Boston in 1804 (Whitehill 1968). An institutional fringe belt developed, primarily on
filled land, along Boston's outlying waterfronts, including South Boston (MHC 1982b).
A11ston/North Brighton
Little Catnbridge's cattle trade experienced rapid growth in the years following the Revolutionary War.
By 1790, the Winships were the biggest meat packers in Massachusetts (Marchione 2005c). They
added a slaughterhouse to their business, which helped transforl11 the small agricultural village of Little
Catnbridge into a tlU'iving commercial center on the south bank of the Charles River. The selling and
butchering of cattle became the economic mainstay of the town throughout the nineteenth century. The
Winship slaughterhouse was located at the foot of Powderhouse Hill (now called Academy Hill) at the
southeast corner of present-day Chestnut Hill Avenue and Academy Hill Road. By the 1820s the
Winship's Brighton Cattle Market was receiving between two and eight thousand head of cattle every
Monday, causing tremendous traffic jams on the roads to Brighton. In 1829 the New England Farl11
estimated the value of cattle sold at Brighton, principally for slaughter, at $540,000 in less than two
months time, an enOlIDOUS sum at that time (Marchione 2005c).
The residents ofLittle Cambridge seceded from the parent town of Catnbridge in 1807 following several
skirmishes with the town government over repairs to bridges and local roads. Brighton was chosen as
the name for the new corporate entity. That satne year Brighton's first church was moved across
Washington Street and a new church was constructed. The old church was renovated for the use of the
school rooms and Town Hall offices. The Town Hall remained in this building until 1841 (Brighton
Allston Historical Society 2005b). In the decades that followed, Brighton became a prosperous
commercial center and by 1819 it boasted its own exhibition hall and fairgrounds on Agriculture Hill in
Brighton Center. By this period, distinct residential neighborhoods had been established throughout
the town, including the Oak Square al'ea near the town line with Newton (Brighton Allston Historical
Society 2005b).
Charlestown
The Anlerican Revolution lasted another seven years, ending when Britain signed the Treaty of Pal'is in
September 1783. After the British evacuated Boston, Charlestown began to be resettled and rebuilt.
By 1785 the town's population was 550 and by 1790 that number nearly doubled. The population
continued to expand and by 1814 there were 5,000 inhabitants and by 1830, approximately 8,000
(MHC 1980c). The United States' position of neutrality during the wars between Britain and France in
the late eighteenth century laid the foundation for continued economic growth reflected in the expanded
PAL Report No. 1936.01
67
Chapter Five
population. The economy stalled slightly during the Jefferson embargo of 1807-1809 and the War of
1812, but recovered quickly.
Economic revival was fueled by increased commerce, industrial growth, improvements in transportation,
and civic projects. Increased trade redeveloped Charlestown's maritime and commercial industries.
The manufacturing of bricks, evolving fl:om the town's redware production, was the largest product of
the period. Other industries included tanning, soap and candle making, and rum distilling. Maritime
industries included rope and anchor manufacturing. Shipbuilding became increasingly important, as
British ships could no longer be used to transport goods. There was also need to protect the country's
coast and maritime trade routes (MHC 1980c; Pendery et al. 1982).
New transpOliation routes expanded the town's commercial and industrial growth. Fen)' services were
replaced by bridges connecting Charlestown to Boston in 1786, to Malden in 1787, and to Chelsea in
1802. Charlestown Neck, now Sullivan Square, was the terminus of the Middlesex Canal, which
opened in 1805. The canal cOlmected Charlestown to the interior where agricultural products and
timber for shipbuilding was directly transpOlied to the town (MHC 1980c). The population increased
to 5,000 persons by 1814 and by 1830, the combined population of Charlestown and Somerville reached
8,783 persons, of which an estimated 8,000 lived in Charlestown (MHC 1980c).
Two major civic facilities, the State Prison and the Charlestown Navy Yard, were established during
this period. The State Prison, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in 1805. It was
located on the southwest comer of the peninsula, where Bunker Hill Community College stands today.
Other smaller civic institutions including the First Congregational Church, the Town Hall, an almshouse,
and five schoolhouses were constructed during this period (MHC 1980c).
Established wharves and the deep water, ice-free port of Charlestown led the General Court to approve
65 acres on the southeast comer of the peninsula for the location of one of the six original United States
Naval Yards in 1800. The Charlestown Navy Yard was sited east of the town of Charlestown on open
land. The presence of the naval yard further increased Charlestown's maritime industries and became
a center for building, refitting, and servicing ships.
Dorchester
Dorchester's relatively small eighteenth-century population blossomed during the nineteenth centul)'.
The growth was sparked in part by industrialization and progress in transpOliation. The end of the
eighteenth century and the first 30 years of the nineteenth centm)' in Dorchester were characterized by
slight population growth. Between 1790 and 1830, the population grew from 1,722 to 4,074 persons
(MHC 1980b).
Industrialization was one ofthe reasons for the growth that did occur, though it, too, proceeded relatively
slowly. The industrial facilities of the early nineteenth century included a saltworks founded in 1802, a
mill for carding and spinning cotton begun in 1811, a paper manufactming facility, and a tinware
factory constructed in 1818. The production ofplaying cards, said to have begun in 1771 in Dorchester,
was also greatly expanded during the period (MHC 1980b).
68
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Transportation in the first part of the century was centered on the construction of tumpikes and the
improvement of roads, including the north/south axis through the town from Boston to the Neponset
River. Omnibus routes coursed through the city, connecting Boston with Meeting House Hill (MHC
1980b).
East Boston
After the war, the island returned to its role as the grazing land for Boston. Salt hay was harvested from
marshes on Hog Island, and milk was sent to the North End of Boston. By 1790, tenants of the farms
were supplying livestock (including cattle, geese, turkeys, ducks, and fowl), produce, and shellfish to
outgoing ships (MHC 1980a).
Only one or two families lived on the islands, with a population of 18 in 1810, and 24 by 1825.
Transportation routes remained from the eighteenth century, and toward the begimling of the 1830s,
houses began to be built. During the War of 1812, Fort Strong was constructed at the east end of Camp
Hill, on the site of the fOltifications from the Revolutionary War (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
The opening of the Roxbury Canal in 1795 flUther added to the industrial opportunities of Roxbury.
With the canal, a new area of small industrial operations, including a distillery, provisions packing and
warehousing facilities, and a new tannery, began at the new town docks. This tannery, in addition to
those founded at the end of the eighteenth century and others, made Roxbury the most important town
in the countty for the trade, with 12 major firms in operation by 1810 (MHC 1981 b).
The arrival of heavy industty in Roxbury in the 1820s began a new type of industrialization in the town.
Large manufacturing facilities began to be constructed near Gravelly Point in the 1820s, primarily due
to the intense competition for Space in Boston and the completion ofthe Mill Dam in 1821. One ofthe
first firms to take advantage of the Mill Darn was the Boston Iron Company, which constructed its plant
on Gravelly Point in 1822. Other industries that operated in the town in the first half of the nineteenth
centmy included rope walks, Roxbury's first brewety, chemical manufacturers, carpet manufacturers,
and a lead works (MHC 1981 b).
Early Industrial Period (1830-1870)
As the nineteenth centlUy progressed, the population and complexity of the city continued to increase
(Walling 1860). Between 1830 and 1870 irnn1igrants streamed into Boston, and by 1870 its population
had reached 140,000. The majority ofthese were Irish immigrants attempting to escape the Irish potato
famine of 1846. In 1850, more than half of the population of Boston was foreign born, with 40 percent
ofthe population ofIrish descent. While the Irish made up by far the largest group among the immigrants
to Boston, other countries were also represented. Italian immigrants had, by 1860, established a small
settlement in the NOlth End. By 1865, 70 percent of Boston's foreign-bom residents were of Irish
descent, with an additional 12 percent Canadian and 5-6 percent each from England and Germany
(MHC 1981a). This increase led to a period of great social change in Boston, in addition to a construction
boom that was unprecedented in the hiStOly of the city.
PAL Report No. 1936.01
69
Chapter Five
Despite boom and bust cycles brought on by the emerging industrial revolution and other national
events, escalating density in the urban core coupled with residential expansion outward to new suburbs
was the general trend. To meet the need for additional space, ambitious filling projects created new
land in the Back Bay, the New South End, along the old waterfront, and in South Boston.
Accompanying this expansion was the creation of new transportation systems, including railroads,
horse drawn omnibuses, streetcars, and ferries. The railroads grew rapidly, accommodating the vastly
increased flow of goods created by the new mills and factories, as well as the burgeoning number of
commuters from the towns sunounding the city. In 1835, the Boston & Providence and Boston &
Worcester railroads, two of the three original New England lines, opened their full routes. Both lines
had begun limited service the previous year after being chmiered in 1831. The lines crossed Back Bay
and each other on elevated embankments and trestles (KalT 1995).
By 1839, three additional railroads had come into Boston, all by way of crossings on the Charles River.
The Boston & Lowell Railroad opened full service between the cities in 1835, while the Boston &
Maine opened a line as the Andover & Wilmington the following yem·. The Fitchburg Railroad opened
its first section oftrack, connecting Charlestown and Somerville, in 1839. Additionally, the Old Colony
and New York Central Railroads reached Boston in 1845 and 1855 respectively (Karr 1995; MHC
1981 a). Soon a vast network of tracks covered m'eas on the old peninsula along the harbor, Back Bay
and Chm'les River waterfronts, Charlestown, East Boston, and Chelsea; and industrial development
clustered around them.
Railroads influenced pedestrian transportation throughout the city with the conversion ofhorse omnibus
routes to street railways in the 1850s. While these railways transported people from the center of the
city to the edges, and to and from neighboring towns, horse railroads continued to operate within
Boston proper.
During the Early Industrial Period, Boston's role in world trade diminished, as it was gradually taken
over by New York. As the economy of Boston moved away from trade as its primmy element,
manufacturing grew in impOliance. With the nem·-tripling of the population and the alTival of railroads
as a transport mechanism, Boston was able to maintain its prominence in the country, though in a
slightly different role as cheap labor and cheap transpOliation made manufacturing more profitable.
Boston's leading manufacturing industry during the Early Industrial Period was the production ofready­
made clothing. Originally a system for manufacturing clothing for sailors and backwoodsmen, production
for other segments of the population began in Boston in the beginning of the 1830s. By 1837 there
were 97 establishments in the trade, which employed 3,000 workers. With the introduction of the
sewing machine, and additional contracts provided by the Civil Wm', the trade employed 20,634 workers
by 1865 (MHC 1981 a).
Second only to ready-made clothing in the hierarchy of Boston's industrial production was piano
manufacturing, Beginning in the Federal Period as an outgrowth oflocallumber milling industries, the
manufacture of pianos was substantially improved through innovations in the product. When cast iron
frames were patented in 1837, the popularity of the instrument rose, and Boston had 20 finns in the
South End by 1855 (MHC 1981a).
70
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Also active in Boston since the Federal Period were confectionary manufacturers. By 1832, six such
companies were located in Boston and by 1865 this number had gown to 23 (MHC 1981 a). Space
issues lin1ited heavy industry in Boston during the period. Residences for the ever-expanding population
of Boston rapidly took up much of the city's vacant space, forcing heavy industry to the fringes of the
city, and often times, into neighboring towns. The Mill Dam area retained its industrial focus, with
railroad equipment being manufactured at the ironworks that developed in the Federal Period, a paint
and dye factory, and rope and chain manufacturers.
Boston's role in trade, still strong in the early years of the Early Industrial Period, held off competition
from other ports to retain some holdovers at the end of the period. Boston became a center for the wool
trade during the early parts of the period, with the establishment of offices for wool dealers and vast
warehouses for the product. By the 1890s, Boston's wool complexes in Boston Proper and South Boston
made it the leading wool market in the country. Additionally, Boston was the headqualiers of the meat
packing industry in the countly, with exports of beef and pork to southem and mid-Atlantic states. The
city also continued its trade with the West Indies in the early yeal's of the period, impOliing sugar,
molasses, and coffee in exchange for lumber. More than half of the nation's trade with the East Indies
and 3/4 of all trade with Russia was still carried out via Boston in the 1830s and 1840s (MHC 1981 a).
Allston/North Brighton
By the 1840s Brighton was one of the most impOliant hOliicultural and market gal'dening centers in the
Boston Area. A partial list oflocal nurseries included the Winship Nursery in North Brighton, Nonantum
Vale Gardens at the comer of Lake and Washington streets, Breck Gal'dens in Oak Square, and Horace
Gray's grapelY on Nonantum Hill. A huge hotel and elaborate stockyard facilities were constructed on
the north side of Brighton Center in 1832. The hotel, known as the Cattle Fair, was the largest of its
kind outside of Boston, containing 100 rooms. The construction of the Boston & Worcester Railroad
through the town in 1834 reinforced the community's hold on the cattle trade. By 1847, the Brighton
cattle traders were doing almost $2 million of business a year. By the 1860s the town also contained an
estimated 50 to 60 slaughterhouses (Marchione 2005c).
The alTival of the Boston & Worcester Railroad and the Winship Gardens Depot in the nOlihem part of
the town spurred increased settlement and neighborhood expansions in the second half ofthe nineteenth
centUly. Most areas south of the railroad became densely settled, leaving the areas right along the
railroad for the commercial slaughterhouse industries. In 1858 the horse-drawn Newton Street Railway
was constructed, connecting Newton and Boston via Washington and Cantbridge streets in Brighton.
Charlestown
The mid-nineteenth century saw an acceleration of population growth in Charlestown. In 1842,
Somerville and Charlestown became independent towns, with Chal'lestown maintaining the majority
of the population. Five years later, in 1847, Charlestown was incorporated as a city. By 1870, the
population of Charlestown had reached 28,323 persons. In 1865, 22 percent of the town's population
was Irish, a number that, by the tum of the twentieth centUlY, had reached 90 percent. This influx of
residents led to a dran1atic increase in the population density ofthe town. Those alTiving in Charlestown
congregated in the working class neighborhoods on the waterfront and provided a pool of cheap labor
PAL Report No. 1936.01
71
Chapter Five
for the city and the region. Population growth led to increased urban density and new row and multifamily
tenement housing spread across Charlestown (MHC 1980c).
An increase in the number of railroads had a profound effect in facilitating the movement of materials,
goods, and people in and out of the town. Between the early l830s and the 1850s, seven railroad
companies laid tracks with Charlestown as the terminus. The first was the Boston and Lowell in 1835
followed by the Charlestown branch of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1836, the Boston and Maine in 1844,
and the Eastern Railroad in 1845. Railroad-related structures such as freight houses, depots, machine
shops, car shops, blacksmith shops, and boiler houses sprung up (MHC 1980c; Pendery et al. 1982).
Early omnibus service was established between Boston and Charlestown by 1826, and by 1860, street
railways were operating between Boston and City Square and connecting to Sullivan Square. In 1873,
Charlestown was annexed by Boston, creating fmiher transpOliation and development opportunities
for the community. By 1890, electric streetcars plied the streets of Charlestown and Boston and ran out
to sunounding towns (MHC 1980c).
Changing economic pursuits marked Charlestown during this period but its main strength remained as
a port. The production of bricks declined sharply during this period as the locally available raw material
was depleted. Processing industries such as tanning, soap and candle making, and rum distilling remained
relatively stable. Maritime and maritime-related industries continued to flourish and the naval yard
was one ofthe most active complexes on the coast. The wharf area was the center of ice exportation to
South America, Europe, Australia, and the Orient. The leading producers in the town were lead and
sugar factories. Household production transformed rapidly as mechanization developed and the labor
market expanded. Wage laborers were slowly replacing craftsmen and apprentices (MHC 1980c; Pendery
et al. 1982).
Charlestown's identity was becoming increasingly more entwined with Boston's. A true metropolitan
area encompassing Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxbury, and Cambridge with Boston in the center was
rapidly developing. A conunon harbor, close proximity, and easy access provided by transportation
improvements linked these towns together, and Charlestown was officially annexed by the city of
Boston in 1873 (Warning 1886).
Dorchester
In the middle of the century, the emergence of railroads helped to improve transpOliation and increase
industry throughout Dorchester. Horse omnibuses gave way to horse railroads throughout the town,
with lines to Quincy and Meeting House Hill. The Old Colony Railroad plied the shore of Dorchester
Bay by 1844, and had a branch reaching out of the town, through Mattapan and to Milton, by 1847.
With the Granite Avenue Bridge, constructed in 1837, the line reached the Quincy granite quanies. The
larger New York and New England Railroad passed through Hyde Park by 1855, and included not only
freight lines, but also local commuter depots, along its route. The Boston and Providence Railroad and
the New York and New England used a depot constructed at Readville, increasing the impOliance of
that neighborhood to the town.
The introduction of this new mode of travel and the harnessing of steam power helped to diversify
Dorchester's industrial base in the mid-nineteenth century. In addition to the industries that continued
72
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
from the eighteenth century, concems in 1844 included the manufactures of starch, cordage, cotton and
woolen textiles, confectionary goods, clu'onometers, and chemicals. In 1837, eleven tanneries led
Dorchester's industrial production, while by 1855, fourteen firms were said to be engaged in the
manufacture of fumiture. Nine tinware shops operated simultaneously during the period, as did tlu'ee
paper factories and tlu'ee confectioners. In the Hyde Park neighborhood, the woolen industry and
Readville car shops of the Boston and Providence Railroad were largely responsible for allowing the
creation of the town of Hyde Park in 1868.
While this industrialization helped to increase the population of Dorchester, the majority of the town
remained agricultural in nature, and population continued to grow slowly. By 1870, the population
reached 16,397, a mal'ked increase, but still lagging behind many of its neighboring towns (MHC
1980b).
The increased population was at least part of the reason that Dorchester was annexed to Boston. In
1804, Boston appropriated Dorchester's water frontage on the inner harbor, including Dorchester Heights.
Washington Village was the next portion of the town to be lost, about 50 years later. Finally, on June
22, 1869, Dorchester's residents voted, by a 56 to 44 percent margin, to be annexed to Boston. In the
city, the vote was not nearly as close: 86 percent of the voters voted in favor of accepting the remaining
portion of Dorchester into the city (Stevens 2000).
East Boston
The development of East Boston began in 1833, with the founding of the East Boston Company. The
company created a subdivision plan for the area, consisting primarily of a residential grid street plan.
The cutting down of Smith and Camp hills begal1 in 1833 to provide material for the filling of tidal flats
(15 years before filling began in Boston Proper). A steam feny was established between Boston and
East Boston, a bridge was erected across Chelsea Creek (1834), and a steam monorail was constructed
in 1834, all with the goal of making East Boston seem less remote (MHC 1980a).
The population of East Boston finally began to rise in the middle of the nineteenth century. From 25 in
1830, the 1835 population reached 607, and by 1840, it was 1,455. During the 1850s, the population
skyrocketed: between 1850 and 1855,6,000 new residents moved to East Boston. Street railways were
constructed by 1860 to serve the growing community. During the 1850s and 1860s, a large number of
Irish immigrants came to the conmmnity, bringing the population to 23,816 persons by 1870. In the last
decades of the century, however, Italian immigrants began to come to East Boston in large numbers,
gradually outnumbering the Irish population (BLC 1990; MHC 1980a).
Railroads also reached East Boston during the mid-nineteenth century, first with the Eastem Railroad,
from Salem, in 1838. A connection was later made from this line, across the Chelsea Creek to Chelsea,
in 1854. With this improved freight connection to the mainland, East Boston's industrial plan could be
more fully realized. In the second half of the century, heavy industry and railroad-related industries
began to fill the void that the declining shipbuilding trades had opened (MHC 1980a).
The East Boston plan allotted lal1d along the waterfront for industrial development, though land along
the Eastem Railroad corridor was also open to development as a result of the presence of the railroad.
PAL Report No. 1936.01
73
Chapter Five
In 1834, the fIrst industrial facility to take advantage of the plan, the East Boston Sugar RefInery, was
constructed. Most ofthe ensuing industrial development was located along the Chelsea Creek waterfront,
while the shoreline that faced toward Boston and Charlestown was dominated by docks and shipyards
(MHC 1980a).
Shipbuilding had begun to develop in the 1830s in East Boston, and with the discovery of gold in
California, the industty reached its climax. Between 1834 and 1858 more than 200 vessels were built,
including the area's fIrst iron steamship in 1857 (MHC 1980a). Several other industries were spulTed
by the growth of the shipyards, including machine and boiler works. Otis Tuft incorporated the Boston
Steam-Engine Company in 1853, and the Atlantic Works and Cummingham Iron works were established
around the same time. A linseed oil factory begun by Noah Sturtevant had become one of the largest in
the country by 1858 and was an early example of the areas many oil processing plants (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
Industrial growth in the latter half of the nineteenth century was driven by the emergence of new fIlms
and the resultant expansion of existing fIrms in the area. Tanning declined in the middle of the century,
giving way to rope manufacturing as the leading industry in RoxbUly, while ironworks for rolling,
splitting, and nail manufacture were the chief employers in the town. The development ofheavy industry
brought stove and iron forges into Roxbury for the fIrst time. Printing presses and fIre engines were
produced, as were belting and the fIrst mass-produced watches. The Roxbury India Rubber Company,
founded in 1832, would be the corporation for which Charles Goodyear would develop vulcanization,
revolutionizing the industry. The American Agricultmal Chemical Company built a plant in the town,
and two fIreworks factories were spawned by the availability of products (MHC 1981 b).
The largest factory in Roxbury in the middle of the century was said to be that of Louis Prang, who
introduced chromolithographs to the United States. Toward the end ofthe century, fIrms such as Boston
Car Spring, Jan1es Crackers, New England Card, and Stul1evant Blower were established, adding to the
diversity of manufacturing concerns in RoxbUly. The organ and piano manufactming industries also
reached RoxbUly, spilling out of the cramped South End of Boston. This period was also the peak
period for Roxbury's brewing industry, as 14 large breweries were located in the town (MHC 1981 b).
The transportation systems of Roxbmy were vastly altered dming the nineteenth centUlY. At the start of
the centUly, colonial roads were being improved and new roads were laid out off the turnpikes that
crisscrossed the town (Hales 1832). Public transportation from Boston consisted of omnibus service
that had been established in 1826. Transp0l1ation was improved in the mid-nineteenth centmy with the
an-ivaI of the Boston & Providence Railroad in 1835. A branch of the railroad connected to West
RoxbUlY as the Norfolk County Railroad in 1849. The omnibus service of the previous decades was
expanded dming the middle years ofthe century to reach Jamaica Plain and Brookline, and by 1865,
horse-drawn railroads were in operation on the streets of Roxbury. In the last three decades of the
century, electric trolley cars can1e to Roxbmy. New routes were constructed with streets through the
recently fIlled and rapidly developing Back Bay. Suburban trolley lines ranged further outside of Boston
via Roxbury to West RoxbUly, Roslindale, and Dedham (MHC 1981 b).
74
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
The population of Roxbury grew throughout the nineteenth century in conjunction with the expanding
industrial employment market and transpOltation infrastructure ofthe town. The population grew slowly
from 2,226 people in 1790 to 5,247 people in 1830. By 1870, the population had reached 43,439,
having grown at a rate of more than 1,100 persons per year after 1840. This population growth was one
of the motivating factors in the incorporation of Roxbury as a city in 1846. Almost all of tIns mid­
century growth occuned in the northern section ofthe town, in and near the industrial core, Inmligrants
began to make up a large pOltion of the populous in the nineteenth century, with more Irish immigrants
than any other group in town, and also a large population of German immigrants (MHC 1981 b).
Late Industrial Period (1870-1915)
The most significant change in Boston during the period was the addition of land to the original area of
Boston Proper, including its annexation of sunounding towns. The addition ofRoxbury, West Roxbury,
Dorchester, Brighton, Hyde Park, and pmt of Brookline added significantly to the land m'ea of the city,
to its population, and to its economy. The completion of the filling of Back Bay in the late 1880s also
added valuable land to the city. With the mmexations and additions, the pressure of population and
industrial growth on Boston Proper was decreased, however, both increased citywide.
The population of Boston Proper grew from 138,781 to 196,300 persons over the 45 years of the Late
Industrial Period; however, the period was marked by cycles of increasing and decreasing population.
Following on the heels of the massive Irish immigration of the mid-nineteenth century, Italian and
Jewish immigration dominated the late nineteenth century. Like the potato famine in Ireland, the
unification of Italy and its resulting famine, and religious persecution of the Jewish community in
Europe brought immigrants to America in staggering numbers. By 1895, Italians had become the
majority group in the North End, supplanting the Irish. Italians made up 27 percent ofthe neighborhood's
population, with 23 percent Irish, and 21 percent eastern European Jews. Irish and Jewish abandonment
of the neighborhood for other pmts ofthe city left the NOlth End firmly in Italian hands by 1910.
To move the population within the growing maze of buildings and to and from the suburban industrial
and residential m'eas, Boston continued to develop its transpOltation system. The Massachusetts Avenue
Bridge was constructed in 1889 to carry traffic from the Back Bay across the Chm'les River to Cambridge,
providing a second route to the industrial area of the west bank of the Charles River. Horse railroads
transpOlted people through the streets in the early pmt of the period, to be replaced by electric street
railways in the 1890s. One ofthe earliest electric trolley subways was constructed around the Common
in 1897, preceding a subway through the central district that was completed in 1908. Elevated railroads
were constructed, including one around central Boston and one to Roxbury, the latter completed in
1901, An elevated trolley was constructed in 1910 across the Chm'les River Dam, from Boston to East
Cmnbridge.
By the Late Industrial Period, Boston was the center of the national wool market and of the shoe and
leather industry, and was the second largest POlt in the country as measured by volume of business. It
was the fmancial, industrial, and trade center ofNew England, and it was continuing to grow. A decline
in conmlerce after the close of the Civil War had been reversed by 1870, bringing Boston back to the
point it was at before the war. The 1872 construction of the Union Freight Railway linked the major
railroad terminals with waterfront facilities, greatly decreasing the cost and increasing the efficiency of
PAL Report No. 1936.01
75
Chapter Five
railroad transpOliation of material. On November 9, 1872, however, the city was dealt a devastating
blow when a 65-acre pOliion of the business district was destroyed by fire. The area burned included
the center of the wholesale trade in hides, wool, dry-goods, ready-made clothing, and of hardware. The
capital involved in the companies located in the burned area allowed it to be largely rebuilt one year
after the fire.
New rail connections, including the Fitchburg Railroad's line through the Hoosac Tunnel, opened the
markets of the Midwest and the west coast to more efficient shipping to and from Boston. The shoe
manufacture business grew throughout the period, with 10 factories operating by 1891. Piano factories
also continued to grow in the South End, peaking around 1910 just as firms began to move out of
Boston Proper, into the suburban towns. The fOlmer site of the Hinckley Locomotive Works, then
occupied by the Boston Elevated's Central Station, was surrounded by piano and organ factories, and
machine and woodworking shops. South of Causeway Street, brass and ironworks, and chair and
casket factories dominated the industrial area. Factories and warehouses also remained along Commercial
Street and near the Boston & Providence Railroad's Gravelly Point yards.
A1Jston/North Brighton
With the growth of the local cattle trade and the expansion of Boston, Brighton's landowners seized
opportunities for profit making in residential development. The groundwork for the transformation of
Brighton into the streetcar suburb was laid in the 1870s and 1880s when the earlier farms were divided
into residential building lots. Increased settlement in the area followed the introduction of the electric
streetcar in 1890. The introduction of the streetcars spun'ed tremendous population growth, with an
increase from 6,000 residents in 1875 to 47,000 in 1925 (Marchione 2005b).
Late-nineteenth-century businesses in the town were dominated by meatpacking and slaughter yard
activities, primarily because ofthe State's order in 1870 that all slaughtering activities within a 6-mile
radius of the State House be consolidated into one facility in Brighton later known as the "Abattoir." A
60-acre parcel along the Charles River was chosen (near the present-day Soldier's Field Road Extension)
for the Brighton Abattoir. The facility opened in 1873 and eventually became the country's largest
stockyard prior to the transfer of operations to Chicago (Brighton Allston Historical Society 2005a).
The consolidation of all slaughtering activities into this single facility in North Brighton also freed up
additional valuable land in the central pati of the town for house construction.
In the 1890s the City of Boston launched its large-scale improvement program for the Charles River
from the harbor at'ea upstream to Watertown. As pati of this program the newly formed Metropolitan
Park Commission (MPC) was determined to reclaim the 10 miles of salt-marsh river bank, which were
deemed "filthy and obnoxious" by many residents who associated them with human disease (Haglund
2003: 142). The marshlands in Brighton were particularly odious because of the offal dumped into the
river by the Brighton Abbatoir, established in 1870 to consolidate the smaller slaughterhouses scattered
throughout the town.
By 1910 the Charles River Dam was completed and the basin assumed a constant water level, allowing
the reservation to assun1e its present form and configuration. This provided the impetus for construction
of park roads along the shores of the Charles. The reclamation of the riverfront lands at the Newton!
76
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Brighton corporate line continued with the extension of Soldier's Field Road west to Galen Street near
Watertown Square. This new road, named Nonantum, was begun in the 1910s and built incrementally
over the next 20 years. The completion of the last section in 1931 established a continuous drive along
the south bank of the river from Bay State Road in Boston to Galen Street in Wateliown.
Charlestown
Charlestown's population fluctuated during this period although it reached its peak in 1910 with 41,444
residents. This growth was accompanied by the installation of the elevated rapid transit line from
Sullivan Square to Boston in 1901. This attracted large numbers of working class residents and by the
tum-of-the-century, Charlestown's population was 90 percent Irish. Settlement patterns continued to
shift to high urban density row houses and tenement developments (MHC 1980c).
The Hoosac Tunnel opened in 1875 connecting the Fitchburg Railroad with the western trunk roads,
becoming the port's major freight carrier. The principal expOlis ofthe Charles River waterfront became
livestock, provisions, and grain. The Mystic River waterfront became the center of Boston's expOli of
timber and the receiving point ofthe city's coal supply. The Charlestown Gas Company was the largest
manufacturer in the city in the early part of this period. The naval yard also expanded during this
period, nearly doubling the number of buildings (MHC 1980c). Heavy industry, including foundries,
furniture factories, and breweries, began to move away from the waterfront and to the west patis of
town in the late nineteenth century (MHC 1980c).
Dorchester
The last third, and paliiculal'ly the last decade, of the nineteenth century saw Dorchester's largest
population growth. Much of this is tied to the expansion and improvement of the network of streetcars
connecting Dorchester to Boston. Between 1870 and 1890, growth was higher than in previous periods,
but fluctuated, maintaining an average of approximately 800 persons per year, or 16,000 total. The rate
jumped to an average of 2,400 persons per year after the electrification of the streetcar lines in the
1890s, with the average between 1895 and 1900 reaching 6,300 persons per year.
This massive growth tied to the streetCal' lines represented a different type of growth for Dorchester.
Industry no longer drove the population increase, but rather, was pushed aside by it. Much of the land
in Dorchester was developed as residential areas, leaving the industrial focus to develop along the
railroad lines of the town. Small numbers of companies did locate along the railroad lines, including
machine, refrigerator, and lithographic shops (MHC 1980b).
East Boston
With the decline ofthe shipbuilding industly, East Boston saw a dramatic shift in its population. Skilled
craftsmen left for other jobs and were replaced by Russian and Eastern European inm1igrants. By 1905,
the town was thought to have the largest Jewish population in New England. Toward the end of the
period, an influx ofItalians from Boston's NOlih End added to the areas ethnic mix, driving the total
population of the community to 62,377 by 1915 (MHC 1980a).
PAL Report No. 1936.01
77
Chapter Five
The late nineteenth century saw a great deal of transportation improvements in East Boston. The LYill1
and Revere Railroad line across the tide flats from Camp Hill to Orient Heights (Hog Island) was
complete by 1888 with a tUill1el under Camp Hill. Streetcar routes from earlier in the century were
extended to Orient Heights, Revere, and Winthrop by 1875. Local streetcars also ran to Boston after
1901 through the East Boston subway tunnel, allegedly the first underwater tunnel in the United States.
Ferries continued to operate with a second and third line running late in the century (MHC 1980a).
Roxbury
During the last tlu'ee decades ofthe century, and tlu'ough the first decade ofthe twentieth, the expansion
of streetcars and utilities fostered a period ofinunense population growth in Roxbury. The Irish population
of Roxbury remained dominant up to the start of the twentieth centmy, before being displaced by a
Jewish population that was moving out of the cities and into more suburban neighborhoods (MHC
1981 b).
Modern Period (1915-present)
The Early Modem period (1915-1940) marked the first noticeable decline in the steady growth and
prosperity ofBoston (Krieger and Cobb 1999; MHC 1982b). Reduction in inm1igration after 1920, the
increasing commercialization of the urban core and the expansion of the suburban ring all contributed
to loss ofpopulation in the city center. The annexation ofthe abutting towns ofDorchester and Roxbmy
in the early twentieth century also played a part in the changing development of Boston. As Boston's
borders expanded, its downtown followed suit. Commercial development expanded into neighborhoods
once dominated by industrial and residential buildings as office buildings replaced houses or renovated
factories.
Although the rapid transit system continued to expand, the rise in popularity of the automobile shifted
emphasis from construction of railways and streetcar lines to improvement of roads, and many trolley
lines were discontinued. New parkways and arterials such as Morrissey Boulevard channeled more cars
into downtown. Shipping facilities along many ofthe waterfront areas declined in activity and gradually
slipped into disrepair.
The growth of downtown Boston has come primarily in the form of tall office buildings, many with
glass and steel exoskeletons. As a result of the transfom1ation of downtown into the Central Business
District, large numbers of fom1er residents of downtown Boston moved away from the downtown and
took up residence in nearby towns that were connected by passenger rail or the new automobile highways.
The physical, social, and economic fabric of Boston continued to change tlu'ough the second half of the
twentieth century. Landfill activities were confined mostly to the areas around Logan AirpOli. However,
the topography of the downtown area was radically altered in the 1950s and 1960s by construction of
the Central Artery, the wholesale demolition and reconfiguration of lots and streets, and massive
rebuilding that characterized urban renewal, and the development boom of the 1970s and 1980s. As
manufacturing activities moved outside the urban area or ceased production, industrial facilities in
areas such as South Boston were abandoned, and many eventually demolished. Much of the extensive
railroad track system was abandoned and/or removed.
78
PAL Report No. 1936.01
Post-Contact Period Cultural Context
Boston's reach far exceeds its political boundaries, with workers at the end of the twentieth century
traveling from as far as Rhode Island and New Hampshire on a daily basis to jobs within the city. The
transportation routes that were developed in the mid-twentieth century also allowed for commercial
development outside of the bounds of Boston. In the communities along routes 93, 128,95, and 495,
corporate parks developed in the last half of the twentieth centuly. Far enough from the center of
Boston to avoid some of the real estate costs of a Boston address, these parks are connected by easily
traveled highways to the economic and transpOltation center of New England (MDHCD 2001).
AUston/North Brighton
The residential and institutional growth of Brighton continued throughout the twentieth century. The
post-World War II period was, in palticular, a time of great crisis because of the increase in the number
of motor vehicles, the intrusion of institutions into the neighborhoods and the pressures they exelted on
the local housing stock, the flight of many long-telm residents to the outer suburbs, and high density/
low quality development in the absence of any SOlt ofpolitical self-determination. In 1990 the population
of Allston-Brighton was 70,000 permanent residents (Marchione 2005a).
Charlestown
As with most of the towns surrounding Boston, manufacturing and shipping in Charlestown declined
after the ftrst decades of the twentieth century, however, several new manufacturing plants opened
including the Hood Dairy Plant, Revere Sugar reftnery, and Schrafft's modem confectionery plant. The
ftrst half of the century saw ever-increasing growth of the Charlestown Navy Yard, however, with the
end of World War II, that activity, too, began to decline. In 1974, the yard was closed, after 174 years in
service. In 1975, 30 acres of the yard became a part of the Boston National Historical Park, which
operates as the home of the USS Constitution.
Railroads began to decrease freight service in the middle decades ofthe century, with passenger service
subsequently utilizing some of the lines. The Massachusetts Bay TranspOltation Authority maintains
use of some of the street trolley lines of Charlestown as electric streetcar lines to the present. The effect
of the automobile was dran1atic as the shift went from railways and trolleys to paved roads, and new
highways routes were constructed. Charlestown's population also declined throughout this period. By
1935 the population was 29,610, close to what it was 62 years earlier when the city was annexed. In
1990, the United States Census recorded just 14,775 persons living in Charlestown
Charlestown has truly become a neighborhood of Boston over the last half of the twentieth century.
This is at least pmtially a result of the construction of the Central Artery from Boston nOlth through
Charlestown in the 1950s. Though it maintains its historic character and its residents maintain a
neighborhood pride, the self-sufficient nature of Charlestown of the em'ly nineteenth century has been
lost in the modem dependency on Boston for services and jobs.
Dorchester
In its role as a neighborhood of Boston, Dorchester's growth during the twentieth century has been
limited. The ftrst half of the century saw the continued expansion of residential areas as agricultural
PAL Report No. 1936.01
79