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"A GUIDE AT A GLANCE" OF HISTORIC BOSTON
By
---
Christ Church
"The Old North Church of Paul Revere Fame." Oldest church edifice in Boston.
"A GUIDE AT A GLANCE" OF HISTORIC BOSTON
PICTURE STORY MAPS
I believe you will enjoy my "PICTURE STORY MAPS" of "BOSTON ANCIENT AND MODERN" (with key) and "PAUL REVERE'S RIDE" - (Three Riders of the Rev- . olution) with narrative. They tell the story of a City and the story of a Famous Episode. The two Maps in Colors 75¢.
Special Edition combined in Colors 50 cents. Mailing 10¢.
Robert M. Winn, 74 Lincoln Ave., Wollaston, Boston 70, Mass.
TO VISIT THE HIGH SPOTS OF HISTORIC BOSTON START-at the "STATE HOUSE" at the summit of Bea- con Hill: Go down Park Street along the north side of the "BOSTON COMMON" to "The PARK STREET CHURCH" on "BRIMSTONE CORNER" ("America" first sung in public here.)
Copyright, 1947, BY ROBERT M. WINN Fifth Printing
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introducing Historic Boston-Robert M. Winn . 3
The State House-Closed Saturday, Sunday and Holidays 5
Historic Boston Common 6
The Historic Codfish 7
The Park Street Church B . 8
A Legend of "Brimstone Corner" IO
"Old Granary" Burial Ground A . II
King's Chapel and Burial Ground A 14 The Old South Meeting House D . 17
The Old State House B (Open Saturday Afternoons, October to May) 19
Faneuil Hall, "The Cradle of Liberty" B Open Sunday, 1:00-5:00 . . 2I Durgin-Park-10:30 A.M .- 7:30 P.M. Closed Sundays and Holidays 22
Union Oyster House A 8:00 A.M .- 9:00 P.M. . 23
The Paul Revere House D . 24
Map of the Rides of Paul Revere, Wm. Dawes and Dr. Prescott . 28
Christ Church, "The Old North Church of Paul Revere Fame" A . 29
Copp's Hill Burial Ground A (B in winter) . 35
U. S. Frigate Constitution "Old Ironsides" A . 36
Bunker Hill Monument A 38 "A Guide at a Glance" 42
To Visit the High Spots of Historic Boston . 43
To Visit the High Spots of Cultural Boston . 44
Highlights Near Boston 46
First Masonic Grave . 48
The Longfellow House A 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Saturday 12M-
5:00 P.M., Sunday 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. . 48
VISITING HOURS SPECIAL WINTER HOURS - TELEPHONE
It is difficult to accurately foretell the hours when Historic Shrines are open to visitors. Some may open earlier, some may remain open later, but I believe you can depend on the hours from 10 to 4 on the days they are open. The following table will be of assistance, but is subject to change. A-Open Daily. B-Closed Saturday afternoon, and Holidays. C-Closed Holidays. D-Open Saturday afternoon. Closed Sundays and Holidays.
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Introducing Historic Boston by ROBERT M. WINN
In the early days of the seventeenth century, economic conditions in England induced many to consider the possibility of improving their con- dition by migrating to the New World.
English settlement of New England began in 1620 with the memor- able voyage of the Mayflower carrying the little band of Pilgrims to the shores of Massachusetts where they founded Plymouth, the first perma- nent settlement in New England. In 1623 a fishing settlement was estab- lished at the site of Gloucester by a company of merchants known as the Dorchester Adventurers. It was not a success and a few of those settlers moved to Naumkeag (Salem).
To reinforce this small colony an organization was formed in England called the New England Company, and to take possession of the generous piece of land granted that Company, John Endecott and fifty settlers went to Salem in 1628. From this beginning grew a greater project. On March 4, 1629 Charles I granted a charter to the New England Company consti- tuting it a body politic, entitled "THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN NEW ENGLAND." Here we have the very foundation of Massachusetts as a self-governing common- wealth -- the Royal Charter, which John Winthrop, the second Governor of that Company, brought to the wilderness of New England.
Thirteen vessels were chartered to carry the colonists across the sea (one of them the MAYFLOWER). Two of the fleet sailed in advance of the others, and on March 4, 1630, four more ships, including the ARBEL- LA, with the Governor aboard, weighed anchor. The ARBELLA was named in compliment to Lady Arbella, wife of Isaac Johnson, of Boston, England, both of whom were passengers.
The ARBELLA landed at Salem on June 12, 1630. Because of the scarcity of food it was deemed wise to break up the colonists into' small parties. Governor Winthrop and his group of PURITANS, including Isaac Johnson and the Lady Arbella settled in Charlestown, but there they were troubled by lack of good water.
Across the river Rev. Wm. Blaxton (or Blackstone), the pioneer set- tler on the peninsula, lived alone in his cottage near the top of the highest hill. So, we read: "Mr. Blackstone dwelling at the Other Side of Charles River, alone, to a Place by the Indians called Shawmutt, where he only had a Cottage at or not far off the Place called Blackstones Point, He Came and Acquainted the Governor of an Excellent Spring there, withal Invit- ing Him and Soliciting Him Thither. Whereupon after the death of Mr. Johnson, and Divers Others the Governor, with Mr. Wilson and the Greatest Part of the Church, Removed Thither Where also, the Frame of the Governors House was carried, when People began to build their Houses against Winter and this Place was called BOSTON."
BOSTON was named September 17, (7 OS) 1630.
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The three-hilled peninsula originally contained only about 783 acres. It faced the harbor at the west end of Massachusetts Bay into which empty the Charles and Mystic Rivers. It was pear-shaped, little more than a mile wide at its broadest and less than three miles long. A thin neck about one mile long and so low that it was overflowed by the highest tides, connected it with the mainland. (See "THE PICTURE STORY MAP OF BOSTON ANCIENT AND MODERN").
Right now over one-half of the land north and east of Boston Com- mon is filled-in ground. HISTORIC BOSTON is all in this area.
I want you to like MY BOSTON, and this GUIDE AT A GLANCE OF HISTORIC BOSTON is dedicated to YOU for YOUR convenience and for YOUR pleasure and information. Perhaps, maybe, it could hap- pen, that you will come to Boston to live and become somewhat like the man in the story who approached Saint Peter and at the Pearly Gates pre- sented his credentials and petition to enter. Saint Peter asked him where he was from, and when informed "BOSTON," hesitated, then said, "Well, your record is spotless, and you may come in, but I don't think you will like it here." I WANT YOU TO LIKE MY BOSTON.
...
IM
from
Boston
I'M FROM BOSTON
"HOW COMPLETE!" Said the Wayfarer of ancient days-
"I'M FROM BOSTON! NOTHING MORE NEEDS TO BE SAID!"
old story Courtesy of M. A. DeWolfe Howe
The illustrations of The State House, The Old State House, Faneuil Hall and the Equestrian Statue of Paul Revere through courtesy of The Convention Bureau of the Boston Chamber of Commerce; the one of the Avery Bennett Clock by courtesy of Mary Kent Davey Babcock.
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The State House and Historic Boston Common
THE STATE HOUSE, overlooking Historic BOSTON COM- MON, stands on the elevation originally called Tramount, then Sentry Hill and now-since the erection of the Beacon in 1635-Beacon Hill. The summit of Tramount was almost as high as the present dome. Charles Bulfinch was the architect of this edifice ". .. erected for the purpose of holding the Public Councils of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts .. ".
The corner stone was laid with public ceremonies July 4, 1795 by His Excellency Samuel Adams, Governor, assisted by Most Worshipful Paul Revere, Grand Master, and other brethren of the Grand Lodge of Masons. 1
The original structure as completed by Bulfinch was a red brick building 172 feet across the front, 65 feet deep and 155 feet high including the dome. The cost was approximately $135,000.00
"Thursday, January 11, 1798 the General Court of Massachusetts assembled for the last time in the Old State House on State Street; at noon
formed a procession and marched to the new building." 1
In 1802 the dome was sheathed with copper purchased from Paul Revere & Son at a cost of $4,231.00. This copper was removed in 1831. The dome was covered with gold leaf in 1874 and has been re-gilded six times, the last time in 1947 at a cost of $12,840.00.
The first addition to the Bulfinch State House was on the northern
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front in 1831. The corner stone of the extension was laid in 1889 and the East and West Wings completed in 1916.
Niches with glass fronts in MEMORIAL HALL contain the Battle Flags carried by Massachusetts soldiers and sailors in the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and the First World War. Four paintings, "THE PILGRIMS ON THE MAYFLOWER," "JOHN ELIOT PREACHING TO THE INDIANS," "CONCORD BRIDGE APRIL 18, 1775" and "THE RETURN OF THE COLORS" adorn the walls.
The Charter granted by Charles I entitled "THE GOVERNOR AND COMPANY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN NEW ENG- LAND," the very foundation of Massachusetts as a self governing Com- monwealth, can be seen in the great wall safe in the Archives division. Another treasure, "THE HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH PLANTATION" by Governor William Bradford. popularly known as "the Log of the May- flower," is displayed in the State Library.
When visiting THE STATE HOUSE you will be much interested in the paintings and statues, particularly the historic "Sacred Codfish" (shown on the following page) and the paintings in the Senate Staircase of "Paul Revere's Ride," "James Otis Making His Famous Argument Against The Writs of Assistance" and "The Boston Tea Party."
Famous BOSTON COMMON, a five sided tract of land nearly fifty acres in area, was purchased from William Blaxton or Blackstone, Boston's pioneer settler, in 1634 for approximately $150.00. We learn from the depositions of four aged men as they describe the purchase in 1684, "The Town laid out a place for a trayning field: which ever since and now is used for that purpose & for the feeding of cattell." The MEMORIAL TO THE FOUNDERS stands on the location of Black- stone's Spring on the Beacon Street Side. Gilbert Stuart, the noted por- trait painter, is buried in the CENTRAL BURIAL GROUND (1756). From the Charles Street side of the Common near that Burial Ground the British embarked for Lexington April 18, 1775.
There were four hills within the original confines of the Common. The ARMY AND NAVY MONUMENT crowns Flagstaff Hill where British artillery was stationed during the siege of Boston. On one hill a gallows was erected in 1638 and used for the execution of Indians, Quakers, Pirates and other malefactors. For a time smoking outdoors in Boston was permitted only in the "Smoker's Circle" on another hill.
"Scolds and Raillers" were placed in the ducking stool at the Frog Pond. The Whipping Post, the Cage for Sabbath Breakers, the Pillory and Stocks were other punishments inflicted on the Common. On one occasion a woman was tied to a post on the Common for beating her hus- band. Here the first duel with swords (which proved to be the last duel fought in Boston) took place in 1728. British, Colonial and Massachu- setts regiments assembled on the Common prior to their active service. Here the British mustered before the Battle of Bunker's Hill.
The monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty- fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Colored) by Augustus Saint-Gaudens,
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possibly his masterpiece, stands opposite the State House. This Memorial overlooks THE FROG POND, so called the town wit had it, "Because it was never known to harbor a frog." That pond, one of three on the Common, where cows slacked their thirst, is now cement lined, but still a play-pond for the children of Boston, where they wade in Summer and skate in Winter. On the green facing LAFAYETTE MALL (Tremont Street) a granite shaft popularly called the Crispus Attucks Monument (Crispus Attucks was the Negro killed in the Boston Massacre) commemo- rates that Massacre on March 5, 1770. The "Oldest Inhabitant of Boston Common," the GREAT ELM, which stood on the Common, fell in 1876.
School children lined Tremont Street Mall to welcome Lafayette in 1824 and cast bouquets in his path. A tablet relating to this welcome is placed midway down LAFAYETTE MALL.
Courtesy of The First National Bank of Boston
"THE SACRED CODFISH"
The HISTORIC CODFISH, originally in the Old State House, was hung opposite the Speaker's chair in the House of Representatives on May 6, 1895. It is made of pine, is 4 feet 111/2 inches long and approximately 10 inches through the largest part of the body.
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PARKER
Courtesy of The First National Bank of Boston
PARK STREET CHURCH and "BRIMSTONE CORNER"
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The Park Street Church
Dedicated 1810
The Park Street Church (Congregational Trinitarian Evangelical) at the corner of Tremont and Park Streets, occupies the site of the town granary in which grain purchased by the authorities to be sold to the needy at a slight increase over wholesale price was stored. (In this old granary sails for the U. S. Frigate Constitution "OLD IRONSIDES" were made.)
It is the best remaining example of Boston's early nineteenth- century ecclesiastical architecture and was designed by the English archi- tect, Peter Banner. The Ionic and Corinthian capitals of the steeple are the hand work of Boston's own Solomon Willard (construction engineer of Bunker Hill Monument). The weathervane which crowns the spire is two hundred and seventeen feet above street level.
The church stands on "BRIMSTONE CORNER," so called from the storage of brimstone in the basement for the manufacture of powder in 1812. There are those who profess to believe the fiery sermons preach- ed in early days gave the corner this name. "A LEGEND OF BRIM- STONE CORNER" by M. A. De Wolfe Howe, Boston author and histor- ian, is a delightful fantasy answering three questions: Why the wind always blows on Brimstone Corner, The whereabouts of his Satanic Majesty, and Why the name "Brimstone Corner." (This Legend follows on next page.) There is a tradition that in early days sulphur was sprinkled on the side- walk near by to attract the attention of wayfarers.
"AMERICA" was first publicly sung in this church at a children's celebration July 4, 1831. On another 4th of July (1829) William Lloyd Garrison gave his first public address in Boston against slavery in this edi- fice. Here Charles Sumner gave his great oration, "The War System of Nations," at a meeting of the American Peace Society in 1849. Other significant dates in the history of the church are: Helped organize the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions 1810, The Amer- ican Education Society 1815, The Sunday School 1817, The Prison Reform Society 1824, The beginning of the American Missionary Association and the American Temperence Society 1826. It became the home of the American Peace Society in 1849. The Honolulu Church was organized here.
THE CHURCH IS OPEN TO VISITORS
DIRECTIONS TO NEXT HISTORIC SPOT OF INTEREST
At the foot of Park Street turn left at "BRIMSTONE CORNER" on Tremont Street, to the "GRANARY BURIAL GROUND."
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The Devil and a Gale of Wind
Danced hand in hand up Winter Street The Devil like his demons grinned
To have for comrade so complete A rascal and à mischief maker Who'd drag an oath from any Quaker
,
1
E
E N D
The Devil beamed with horrid joy
Till to the Common's rim they came, Then chuckled, "Wait you here my boy, For duties now my presence claun In yonder Church on Brimstone Corner, Where, Pleasures dead and lacks a mourner"
LIES
But play about till I come back"
With that he vanished through the doors, And since that day the almande Has marked the years by tens and scores, Yet never From those satred portals
Returns the Enemy of Mortals.
And that is why the faithful Gale
Round Park Street Corner still must blow, Waiting for him with horns and tail- At least some people tell me so - None of your famous Antiquarians, But just some wicked Unitarians.
A + De Work Now
OL MA-SUNROZWI VORZUUK 0 F 0
--
The Wind made sport of hals and hair The Ladies deemed their ornament With skirts that frolicked everywhere Away their prim decorum went And Worthy citizens lamented The public spectacles presented
A
"A LEGEND OF BRIMSTONE CORNER" appeared in "BOSTON COMMON. SCENES FROM FOUR CENTURIES" by M. A. DeWolfe Howe whose "BOSTON LANDMARKS," just printed, is illustrated with photographs by Samuel Chamberlain.
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"Old Granary" Burial Ground
This historic old
burial ground, laid
out in 1660, was originally part of Boston Common. It takes its name from the Town Granary which at that time was situ- ated where now is standing the Park Street Church. In the granary grain purchased by the authorities to be sold to the poor at
slight increase a over the wholesale price was stored. The oldest marker in "Old Granary" is that of Hannah Allen,* the oldest upright stone that of John Wakefield .* A statement "That there are more people buried in 'OLD GRANARY' who are known to more people than are buried in any other burying ground in the coun- try," is not successfully disputed. Among the best known may be noted three Signers of the Declaration of Independence, JOHN HANCOCK* (first signer), SAMUEL ADAMS,* who inspired the Revolution, and ROBERT TREAT PAINE .* PAUL REVERE,* whose midnight ride to Lexington warned ADAMS and HANCOCK, THE BOSTON MASSA- CRE VICTIMS,* and CHRISTOPHER SNIDER* (a Boston Boy killed by British Soldiers some days before the Massacre) rest in two of the old tombs. In another tomb is interred JAMES OTIS,* Patriot Orator, and across the walk from the Revere tomb is the tomb of JOHN HULL,* (Mint Master) who coined the famous Pine Tree Shillings, and Chief Justice SAMUEL SEWELL,* who married Hull's daughter, Hannah, and thereby secured himself a dowry of her weight in shining Pine Tree Shillings: 128 pounds of Hannah; total value $2500. PETER FANEUIL* (who gave Faneuil Hall to Boston) and JEREMY GRIDLEY* (Third Provincial Grand Master of Masons) lie in tombs on one side of the ground; THE PARENTS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN* rest under the central and most conspicuous monument. BENJAMIN WOODBRIDGE,* ELISHA BROWN* and the TOMB FOR THE BURIAL OF INFANTS* add to the number of the well known. Governors Bellingham, Dummer, Bowdoin, Sumner, Sullivan, Gore, Eustis and Endecott buried here with ADAMS* and HANCOCK* total ten Governors of Province, Colony and Commonwealth. The grave of MARY GOOSE,* better known as Boston's "MOTHER GOOSE," is eagerly sought. Note that General Joseph
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to "KING'S CHAPEL" and "KING'S CHAPEL BURIAL GROUND." From the "GRANARY BURIAL GROUND" turn left down Tremont Street
DIRECTIONS TO NEXT HISTORIC SPOT OF INTEREST
PETER
(FUNNEL) FANEUIL
PAUL
REVERE
HANNAH ALLEN
OLDEST W
1667
EREVERE TOMB
CHIEF JUSTICE
JOHN
SAMUEL SEWALL !:
DELOLDEST STONE $ 1667
3ª PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER OF MASONS
MINT MASTER
-
To
FRANKLIN
ROBERT TREAT
C
(2) PAINE TABLET
JOHN HANCOCK
UNBAPTISED.Z. · INFANTS -*-
12/1
(3)
ELISHA
JOHN PHILIPS
BROWN
IST MAYOR
BOSTON MASSACRE VICTIMS AND
DR.DAVID TOWNSEND
CHRISTOPHER
WOODBRIDGE
SURGEON
SMIDER
BUNKER
80976M
AMUEI
TOWNSEND
, VI HILL
15/108"
· Interesting epitaphs
GRANARY BURYGROUND - 1660
Third Burial Place in Boston so called from Town Granary on site of Park Street Church
1776 to 1826.
*Located on Map.
ELISHA BROWN ... For 17 days successfully opposed
a whole British Reg. in their violent aftempt to force him from his legal habitation
BENJAMIN WOODBRIDGE
Mortally wounded by his best friend in first duel with swords fought in Boston. They quarreled
BENJAMIN "/ V/
OF BOSTON
11
over a game of cards.
JAMES" 1. OTIS
DAVID
PHILIPP
LADAMS
PARENTS
OF
MOTHER
GOOSE JI
BENJAMIN
MARY | BRACKET
PEPE HULL
JEREMY GRIDLEY
ASLAB
Warren, hero of Bunker Hill, was interred in this Burial Ground from
-
PAUL REVERE. BORN IN BOSTON. JANUARY 1734: DIED MAV. 1818. -
Paul Revere's Tomb
Paul Revere's Grave
Paul Revere rests in Old Granary Burial Ground
Mary Goose's Grave
Mary Goose "wife to Isaac Goose," Boston's Mother Goose is said to have written the Nursery Rhymes for he- grandchil- dren.
HERE LYES V BODY OF MARY GOOSE WIFF TO ISAAC GOOSE, AGED 42 YEARS DEC OCTOBER $91690
HEFE LyEth also Tocaan
Goose y 3d aged is nº
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King's Chapel and Burial Ground Present Edifice dedicated 1754
King's Chapel was established in Boston in 1686 by Rev. Robert Ratcliffe, the Private Chaplain of King James II who had come from England commissioned to establish the Church of England in the Colony. Services were held in the Town House (where now stands the Old State House) for no Congregational meeting house would permit the Church of England service read within its doors. In December, 1686, Sir Edmund Andros came to Boston, the first U fully commissioned royal governor of the Province. With- in 4 months Gov- ernor Andros took U the keys of the Old South Church from the sexton, and for nearly two years the Episcopalians held possession of Old South on Sun- day mornings. The regular congrega- tion was left to cool its heels outside un- til the Episcopal service was conclud-
ed. Governor And- ros sought to buy land on which to erect a new church, but no Episcopalian owned land suit- able and no Con- gregationalist was selling land for such use. Finally through the influ- ence of Governor Andros, or at his direction one cor- ner of the burying ground where the King's Chapel still stands was set apart and a wooden edi- fice erected. This
Interior of King's Chapel
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edifice, which was first occupied June 30, 1689, was enlarged in 1710.
There was no organ in the colony until Thomas Brattle imported one from England. At his death he left this organ to the Church in Brattle Square stipulating that society accept his gift within one year, or the organ would go to King's Chapel. Of course no Puritan church would use ". . . the same in the public worship of God" and King's Chapel re- ceived the organ in 1713. That instrument was sold to St. Paul's Church in Newburyport and resold in 1836, without the old case, to St. John's Church in Portsmouth, N. H., where it may still be seen.
The granite walls of the present King's Chapel were built right around the wood- en building. Services were held, however, the greater part of the time it took to complete the structure, about five years. Then the little wooden chapel was torn down and thrown out into the street through the windows of the new edifice. The gran- ite in the present walls came from old Braintree Common (now Quincy) and is the first granite quarried in this country. It was taken from the surface quarry where now stands the "Church of the Presidents" in Quincy Square (under which two Presidents, John Adams and John Quin- cy Adams, are interred. The bell in the tower is one recast Interior of King's Chapel by Paul Revere & Son in 1816. Above the organ, which was brought over from England 1756, the crown and two bishop's mitres are still retained. There is a tradition that the great Handel, who was a friend of the King, selected this organ. Under the church are 22 tombs.
You will be interested in the pulpit, erected in 1717, the oldest in this country still in use on its original site. In the chancel you may see the originalCommunion Table (1686) and on the East wall "The Deca- louge, viz., thee tenn Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed (which) were drawne in England and Brought over by Mr. Samuel Myles in July, 1696." The Governor's, or Royal Pew, and the pew of Oliver Wendell Holmes, No. 102, interest many. You will remember that the funeral of General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill, was held here April 8, 1776.
Because of the character of the changes made in the Book of Com-
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mon Prayer, King's Chapel, which was the first Episcopal Church in New England, is often spoken of as the first Unitarian Church in America. THE CHURCH IS OPEN TO VISITORS
KING'S CHAPEL BURIAL GROUND (1630) was probably established soon after the settlement of Boston. Governor Winthrop's Journal records, "Capt. Welden, a hopeful young gent, and an exper- ienced soldier, dyed at Charlestowne of a consumption, and was buried at Boston with a military funeral." The earliest interment of record was that of Governor Winthrop in 1649.
The tale is told that the land was owned by Sir Isaac Johnson, an important man in the colony, who came to Boston with the Governor. The ship which brought them to these shores was named the ARBELLA in honor of Sir Isaac'c wife, the Lady Arbella, and BOSTON was named after his home city in England. On his deathbed Sir Isaac expressed the wish that he be buried in the upper end of his lot, and he was buried there September 30, 1630. Before long, according to the story, somebody else died and wished to be buried alongside Brother Johnson. And was. But when frequent applications for the same privilege were made to the au- thorities we read in the old-time record, "Brother Johnson's garden is getting to be a poor place for vegetables." That garden is now King's Chapel Burial Ground, taking its name from the King's Chapel which stands in one corner of the original area.
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