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Gc 974.402 B65s 1142751
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01100 8510
E
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/topographicalhis00shur 1
Compliments of
Chas. 20. Hallstram,
COMMON COUNCIL,
WARD II.
®
A.W.ELson & Do. BOSTON.
Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff born 1810. died 1814. Mayor of Boston, 1868, 1869, 1810.
A
TOPOGRAPHICAL
AND
HISTORICAL
DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
BY
Nathaniel B. SBurtleff.
THIRD EDITION. SECOND IMPRESSION.
BOSTON : PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE COMMON COUNCIL.
Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers. 1891.
CITY OF BOSTON.
IN COMMON COUNCIL, Dec. 26, 1890.
Ordered, That the Superintendent of Printing be requested to cause an edition of one thousand copies of "Shurtleff's Topographical History of Boston " to be printed and bound, and the City Messenger is hereby authorized to furnish twenty copies to His Honor the Mayor, and thirteen copies to each member of the Common Council of 1890, the balance to be distributed under the direction of the Committee on Printing on part of the Common Council, the expense attending the same to be charged to the appropriation for Contingent Fund of the Common Council.
Passed in Common Council Dec. 26, 1890.
Approved by the Mayor Dec. 29, 1890.
A true copy.
Attest : JOSEPH O'KANE, Clerk of the Common Council.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871,
BY NATHANIEL B. SHURTLEFF, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
1142751
PREFACE.
THE following pages comprise a series of articles on the topog- raphy of Boston, with an occasional mention of historical occur- rences. They were written during the leisure hours allowed by a professional life, from memorandums which the writer has been preserving for nearly forty years. The fifty-seven chapters which are included in the volume are a portion only of what should form the work, if it should ever attain to the distinction of being a com- prehensive topographical and historical description of the ancient town, with its changes, enlargements, and improvements since it became endowed with the corporate powers granted by its city charter ; the book, therefore, treats only of parts of what a gen- eral work would demand. To each of the particular subjects of description, perhaps enough has been given, leaving to the future a continuation of the work and other matters for similar consideration.
The nature of the effort has been such, that each subject has been made to cover the whole space of time that appropriately belongs to it : and, therefore, each chapter may have a range from the first set- tlement of the town to the present year; for the writer has attempted to bring his descriptions to the time when he takes his pen from the paper. A chronological work, in the shape of annals, might have been more sure of touching all matters of interest than the plan pursued ; but, then, subjects would have been dismembered, and the searcher for information would have been compelled perforce to become a compiler, instead of a reader of the deductions and arrangements of others. In matters relating to the localities and
iii
iv
PREFACE.
ancient landmarks of an old place, with their olden-time associations, no other plan of arrangement could well be adopted and carried out. The plan is made imperative by the subject.
It would be impossible, even in so pleasant a task as the writer has attempted, to perform the work without an unintentional omis- sion of some little matters intimately connected with the subject of the descriptions. Many of these omissions have undoubtedly oc- curred in the chapters now presented to the reader; and while indulgence is asked for these shortcomings, the mention of a few only are deemed of sufficient importance to require their notice in a preface. These relate to maps and plans of Boston, Roxbury, and Boston Harbor. In " The Pennsylvania Magazine " for July, 1775, is a plan of the town of Boston, and Provincial camp, engraved by Aitkins. The plan of the town is derived from the same source as that of the plan in " The Gentleman's Magazine." On one corner of the plate is a small chart of the Provincial camp, drawn to a scale of two miles to an inch, exhibiting the lines extending from Charles River through Cambridge and Charlestown to Winter Hill on the southerly border of the Mystic River, and also the lines in Roxbury, as well as Gage's lines around Boston Neck near the Roxbury line. Besides these lines are designated the situations of the main guard at " Cambridge College," and of the various ports, batteries, and hills. A plan of General Gage's lines on Boston Neck, drawn to the scale of about three hundred feet to an inch, illustrates the August number of the same magazine; and in the number for June is an " engraving of the Harbor and Town of Boston and parts adjacent." A map of the town of Roxbury, as surveyed by John G. Hales, was published by the selectmen of Roxbury in April, 1832, on a scale of one hundred rods to an inch, the plate being twenty-five by seventeen and a half inches in size. This last includes the present town of West Roxbury. In 1817, a careful survey of Boston Harbor was made by Alexander S. Wadsworth, U.S.N., by order of Commodore William Bainbridge, and engraved by Allen and Gaw, on a scale of fifteen hundred feet to an inch, under the direc-
PREFACE.
tion of John Melish, by whom it was published at Philadelphia in 1819. This is a very valuable chart of the whole harbor, and is printed on a sheet measuring forty-two by thirty-six inches.
With these few prefatory remarks, these pages are now committed to the public. But for the request of the City Council of Boston, that they might be printed in the present form, they would have been allowed to remain in the writer's scrap-book until the work that he has undertaken shall have been completed. If any information can be gleaned from the chapters, and pleasant recollections or asso- ciations of the past awakened by them, the labor of one who feels a deep interest in the subject upon which he has written, as well as in every thing that appertains to the place of his birth and habitation, will be satisfactorily rewarded.
BOSTON, November, 1870.
N. B. S.
The first edition of this book having been disposed of, and an urgent demand having been made for another, the work has been thoroughly examined, revised, and corrected, and is now again sub- mitted to the public.
The writer has the pleasure of adding two other maps to the list given in Chapter VI. One, a revision of Carleton's large map issued in 1800, was published by William Norman in 1806, after the annexation of Dorchester Neck to Boston ; the other, a manu- script chart of Boston Harbor, was made soon after the year 1686, by order of Sir Edmund Andros, while exercising the authority of Governor in New England.
BOSTON, November, 1871.
N. B. S.
CONTENTS.
Page.
PREFACE
iii
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
3
TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION
23
ARRIVAL OF COLONISTS AND SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON
23
EARLY DESCRIPTIONS OF BOSTON .
38
ANCIENT DESCRIPTIONS BY ENGLISH WRITERS
53
DESCRIPTIONS BY FRENCH WRITERS
67
DESCRIPTIONS BY FRENCH WRITERS
77
MAPS AND PLANS
91
POINTS, COVES, CREEK, OLD BRIDGES, AND BATTERIES 106
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN 124
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN, AND RIVERS 137
THE THREE HILLS OF BOSTON
158
BEACON HILL AND ITS EMINENCES, BEACON POLE AND MONU-
MENT 170
CEMETERIES. CHAPEL BURYING-GROUND 182
NORTH BURYING-GROUND 197
GRANARY BURYING-GROUND 210
QUAKER BURYING-GROUND
227
CENTRAL BURYING-GROUND
235
viii
CONTENTS.
Page.
SOUTH BURYING-GROUND, AND CEMETERIES 243
SOUTH BOSTON AND EAST BOSTON CEMETERIES 252
BURYING-GROUNDS IN BOSTON HIGHLANDS 270
DORCHESTER BURYING-GROUNDS 280
HISTORY OF BOSTON COMMON 294 .
BOUNDARY, EXTENT, AND FENCES OF THE COMMON 307
MALLS, PATHS, AND WALKS OF THE COMMON 320
THE OLD ELM AND OTHER TREES ON THE COMMON 329
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COMMON. EXECUTIONS 341
PUBLIC GARDEN
355
PADDOCK'S MALL
368
PUBLIC SQUARES
378
SPRINGS, TOWN PUMPS, AND RESERVOIRS 388
THE OLD CONDUIT 398
PONDS AND AQUEDUCTS
406
ENTRANCES TO BOSTON 416
BOSTON HARBOR, AND ITS SURROUNDINGS AND ISLANDS 431
BIRD, NODDLE'S, HOG, AND GOVERNOR'S ISLANDS 442 CATASTROPHE IN THE HARBOR. APPLE AND SNAKE ISLANDS 453
DEER ISLAND 462
CHANNELS, UPPER MIDDLE, AND CASTLE ISLAND 472 .
CASTLE ISLAND AND FORT INDEPENDENCE 484
THOMPSON'S, MOON AND HALF-MOON ISLANDS 499
THE BACK WAY, AND SPECTACLE ISLAND .
508
RAINSFORD ISLAND, AND THE OLD QUARANTINE 518
LONG ISLAND 528
NIX'S MATE. THE NARROWS AND OTHER SHIP PASSAGES . 537
GALLOP'S AND LOVELL'S ISLANDS . 545
CONTENTS.
ix
Page. GEORGE'S, PETTICK'S, AND OTHER ISLANDS
554
ISLANDS AT THE MOUTH OF THE HARBOR
564
RECAPITULATORY DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOR, AND DISTANCES 579 ANCIENT STYLE OF BUILDING, AND THE OLD LANDMARKS 588
THE PROVINCE HOUSE 593
THE GREEN DRAGON TAVERN
605
THE BIRTHPLACE OF FRANKLIN 615
THE BLUE BALL IN UNION STREET 626
THE OLD FEATHER STORE
639
THE JULIEN HOUSE IN MILK STREET
THE OLD STONE HOUSE IN CROSS STREET
663
THE OLD CORNER BOOK-STORE 671
649
THE TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE 681
INDEX o 0 693
-
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
PORTRAIT OF DR. SHURTLEFF
MAP OF BURNT DISTRICT .
Frontispiece . liv
MAP OF BOSTON, 1711
· facing 60
MAP OF BOSTON, BONNER'S, 1722
66
. 91
MAP OF BOSTON, BURGISS'S, 1728
66 92
VIEW OF THE NORTH PART OF BOSTON, 1764
66 107
VIEW OF BOSTON FROM FORT HILL, 1764 .
66 169
VIEW OF BOSTON COMMON AND SOUTH END, 1764 66 294
BOSTON HARBOR AND ISLANDS, 1890 . .
66 518
.
·
-
PREFATORY NOTE
BY
WILLIAM H. WHITMORE.
The two preceding notes fully explain the matter of the publication of the first and second editions, the first being issued for the city of Boston, and the second being published for the author. As the plates remained with the city, an order was passed by the City Council, approved May 28th, 1890, providing for a new edition " with any necessary revision." This revision has been construed by the Chair- man of the Record Commissioners, upon whom the duty was imposed, to mean only such corrections or additions as related to the specific subjects discussed in the text. The very few corrections made by Dr. Shurtleff for a new edition have been incorporated in the text.
The great event which has mainly caused the revision was, of course, the Great Fire of 1872. The growth of the city in eighteen years has also produced changes which ought not to stand unnoticed in a new edition. As the book was in type, it seemed unwise to attempt to alter the plates, and the corrections are therefore arranged in due order, in this prefatory note.
CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS.
P. 37. I have added to the text the later annexations of territory.
P. 59. I think that Dr. Shurtleff gives too much faith to Ward's scurrility. It is by no means certain that Ward ever came here, and his Letter contains nothing which he could not have picked up at second-hand in Wapping.
P. 60. Neal's description of Boston in 1719 is a suitable occasion for the introduction of a map made in 1711, and not hith-
xii
PREFATORY NOTE.
erto published. The original of this rare and valuable plan is in the British Museum, and this reproduction is made from a photograph thereof. The occasion which caused this survey to be made was the arrival in Boston Harbor, on June 25, 1711, of Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker, with the largest fleet that had ever at one time floated on its waters. The fleet consisted of fifteen men-of-war and forty transports, with upwards of five thousand men, besides two regiments raised in New Eng- land which joined the army here.
The next day after the fleet arrived, arrangements were made for landing the men at Noddle's Island (East Bos- ton), where they were encamped as shown in the plan. A list of the ships, names of their commanders, their number of men and guns, are given in the Boston News- Letter for 23d July, 1711.
The following extract from that paper will give an idea of the stir which this arrival occasioned in the Town : "On Monday, the 25th of June last, the Castle gave the usual sign of several ships seen in the Bay, and about noon the alarm begun, and in one hour's time the Troop of Guards and Regiments of Foot were under arms, and, in his Ex- cellency's absence at the Congress at New London, the Gentlemen of her Majesty's Council received his Excel- lency Brigadier Hill, Commander-in-Chief of her Maj- esty's forces in North America, and the Honorable Sir Hovenden Walker, Knt., Admiral of her Majesty's fleet in the present expedition. The Troop and Regiment being still under arms, the General and Admiral were con- ducted and attended by her Majesty's Council to the Town-House, and congratulated on their safe arrival to New England."
Of the melancholy fate of this great armament it is only necessary to add that it utterly failed, owing to adverse circumstances beyond the control of human power. A terrific storm wrecked nine of the ships in which were lost
xiii
PREFATORY NOTE.
900 men. Another ship, the "Edgar," was blown up after reaching the coast of England, and with it 400 more men were lost.
P. 105. This chapter contains a list of the various maps of Boston. Two more are added by Dr. Shurtleff (ante, p. vi). The whole subject has been thoroughly discussed in Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, printed in 1881. Vol. ii, pp. xlix-lv.
The earliest chart, a manuscript one made for Gov. Andros, referred to by Shurtleff, was in the Brinley Library and is fully described by Winsor.
Franquelin's manuscript map, 1693, is preserved at Paris. A copy has been made for the Boston Public Library and heliotypes circulated. The part which embraces Boston and Charlestown was also published in City Doc. No. 119 of 1879. (Nomenclature of Streets.)
About 1705 a map of Boston Harbor was published at Dub- lin for the royal navy. A fac-simile is given by Win- sor. (Shurtleff, p. 100-101.)
In 1714 John Bonner made a sketch of the water-front of the town from Windmill Point to Long Wharf. It belongs to the Massachu- setts Historical Society, which printed a fac-simile, full size, in its proceedings for September, 1864 ; and Winsor gives a reduced сору.
Bonner's Map of 1722 is fully described in the text. Both Shurt- leff and Winsor state that it was re-engraved by Bowen for Snow's History of Boston, but they fail to note that Bowen took the liberty of adding a number of modern names and other alterations, thus depriving it of all value as a reproduction. Drake used the same plate in his History, p. 566.
Burgiss in 1728 published a map, now very rare, and reproduced for the first time by Dr. Shurtleff in his volume. A new impression has been made for this edition.
Price's edition or reprint of Bonner's map (Shurtleff, p. 92) is more fully described by Winsor, who gives a reduced fac-simile of the last edition of 1769.
xiv
PREFATORY NOTE.
Pelham's Map of 1777 (Shurtleff, p. 95-6) was republished in fac-simile, by George Lamb, of Boston, in 1876.
Carleton's large map (Shurtleff, p. 96) appears to have been issued in two stages, the later one containing a part of South Boston.
Hales's Map of 1814 (Shurtleff, p. 97) was re-issued in fac-simile in 1879, by A. Williams & Co. The City contributed to the expense of this edition. This map is of great value as an attempt to show all the buildings in the city.
The Bewick Company's Map of 1835 is very interesting, as the margin is made up of views of churches and public buildings.
Bartlett's Map of 1871 is note-worthy as giving views of the princi- pal buildings, at or near their respective sites. It is 31 by 21 inches.
The City Engineer's Map (Shurtleff, p. 99) was the first official map of the city. Slade's map, from 1861 to 1868, was engraved on copper by Swett. In 1867 a lithographed map (A. Meisel) was issued by N. H. Crafts, giving Boston and Roxbury, size 52} by 30 inches.
In 1868 City Engineer N. Henry Crafts prepared a new map, 51g by 333 inches, lithographed by Meisel. It is understood that part of it was an exact copy of Slade's map. In 1870 a new edition was issued, covering Dorchester, prepared by T. W. Davis, City Surveyor. Both the copper-plate and lithograph-stone were lost in the Great Fire of 1872. The city was obliged for several years to depend on maps issued by private enterprise ; of these the best was one pub- lished in 1880 by the Boston Map Co. from authentic surveys, and the city bought the stone in 1881. This map is issued with corrections from time to time. In 1886 the city bought the lithograph-stones prepared by Bromley for his atlas, and this large map is also issued with corrections.
In 1878, 1886, 1889 and 1890 the city published maps of the wards, in atlas form, showing the voting precincts. In fact two editions were printed in 1886: the first, dated February 1st, show- ing the precincts under a new decennial division of wards, was can- celled, the Supreme Court having declared the act unconstitutional. (See post, pp. 146-148.) The later edition was dated June 21, and follows the existing wards, as established in 1875.
A map of ancient Boston, according to the data furnished by the
XV
PREFATORY NOTE.
Book of Possessions, was prepared by William Appleton, Esq., in 1866, and a very few lithographic copies were distributed by him. Mr. George Lamb later prepared a large map on the same basis, which was bought by the Boston Public Library, and 250 copies by the heliotype process were issued in 1881, in ten parts, each about 21 by 31 inches - making a double row of five parts wide - or a total of 1122 by 632 inches. A small copy is given in the Second Report of the Boston Record Commissioners, with the Book of Possessions. Each section is duplicated, with explanatory notes in which are embodied the valuable annotations of Mr. Winsor, from the Memorial History.
Des Barres' Chart (Shurtleff, p. 102) was published in fac-simile in the first two editions of this book. As the stone was destroyed in the Great Fire, it was deemed unnecessary to go to the large expense of reproducing it, especially as this map has no special value above other similar ones. It seemed essential, however, for the comprehension of the text that there should be a map of the Islands, and a reproduc- tion of the latest official chart is given in this volume.
ROXBURY.
In 1880 a large map of Roxbury, 43 by 342 inches, prepared by T. W. Davis, City Surveyor, and printed by the Heliotype Co., was published by the city.
DORCHESTER.
Baker's Map of Dorchester (Shurtleff, p. 104) was reproduced on a smaller scale by the Photo-Electrotype Co. and published by the City in 1889.
Davis's Map of Dorchester, mentioned by Shurtleff, was corrected in 1870 and lithographed, size 51 by 34 inches. In 1880, City Sur- veyor Davis issued another large Map of Dorchester, size 52 by 70 inches.
BRIGHTON.
In 1878, a large map of Brighton, size 40 by 70 inches, was issued by the Selectmen, from surveys by H. M. Wightman and W. Jackson.
A map of Roxbury in 1832, by Hales, is sometimes found, and is much prized, as it gives the contours of the whole town, then in- cluding West Roxbury.
xvi
PREFATORY NOTE.
CHARLESTOWN.
Dr. Shurtleff does not mention the maps of Charlestown, as that city was annexed in 1874. The principal ones are as follows : -
A plan of Charlestown Peninsula, 1818, by Peter Tufts, jr., engraved by Annin & Smith, size 21 by 174 inches, is reproduced in Wyman's Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, 1879, in the sec- ond volume.
In 1848, the City of Charlestown had published the map by Felton & Barker, size 24 by 32 inches, printed at Bufford's lithographic press.
The Charlestown Directory contains a small map, 94 by 52 inches, engraved by E. A. Teulon, " reduced from Felton and Barker's plan." In 1879 the City Surveyor, T. W. Davis, published a map of Charlestown, printed by Bufford's Heliotype process, which measures about 49 by 323 inches. It was revised in 1890.
BOSTON DIRECTORY MAP.
Shurtleff, p. 96, mentions Carleton's map. It is found in the Direc- tories for 1796, 1798 and 1800; in 1803 some changes were made; in 1805 and 1806 the plate was altered to introduce South Boston. In this stage, the date and the publisher's name are erased, and the references changed. In 1807 there was evidently a new plate made having no engraver's name, with the words " Plan of Boston," on a shaded ground. This plate was used for several years.
MANUSCRIPT PLANS, &C.
In a Catalogue of Maps, etc., belonging to Nathan Hale, dated Dec. 17, 1862, I find the following. It is understood that these were bought for the Library of Congress.
No 32 Original of Page's Map of Boston
33 Drawing of Boston by Page
34 do 26 × 18
35 Boston Harbor &c 51 x 29 by Lt. Hill of the Welsh Fusileers
36
Rough Draft of do. 20 x 17
37 Plan of British Lines on Boston Neck Aug. 1775, pen- drawing, 9 x 11.
xvii
PREFATORY NOTE.
Insurance Maps. (Shurtleff, p. 100.) The one now (1890) in use is in 5 volumes, dated 1885, issued by the Sanborn Perris Map Pub- lishing Co. of New York. It undergoes frequent revision.
G. M. Hopkins & Co., Philadelphia, published in 1875 an Atlas in 5 volumes of Boston and vicinity. G. W & W. S. Bromley of Philadel- phia in 1883 issued a similar Atlas, scale 100 feet, and in 1888 began one on the scale of 50 feet, to comprise ten volumes.
VIEWS OF BOSTON.
Closely allied to the subject of Maps, is that of the pictures of Bos- ton. . The Memorial History mentions
Carwitham's View, about 1723,
Price's View 1743, probably issued earlier,
Gov. Pownall's View 1757,
Paul Revere's View 1768,
Des Barres' View 1776, reprinted by Stark.
Later than these are many views of the City, several being bird's-
eye views, which attain to a fair degree of accuracy. We note
1840 Robert Havell, New York, publisher.
. 1848 E. Whitefield, publisher
1860? View from East Boston
1863 B. B. Russell & Co., publishers
1870 John Weik, Philadelphia, publisher
1873 Currier & Ives, New York, publishers.
1879. Bailey and Hazen, publishers
1880 H. H. Rowley, Hartford, Conn., publisher.
Recently three invaluable Views of Boston taken on the spot in 1764, have been discovered and made public. These are water-color drawings made by Capt. Richard Byron, R.N., and given by him to his sister Isabella, Lady Carlisle. They descended to the present Earl of Carlisle, who gave them to Edward L. Pierce, Esq., to be deposited in some suitable place in this city. Mr. Pierce gave them to the Bos- tonian Society, and careful copies, by the photo-gravure process, have been obtained for the embellishment of this volume. The authenticity of these views is thus unquestioned, and their fidelity to nature is
xviii
PREFATORY NOTE.
self-evident. The drawings are inscribed in a contemporary hand, and the date is added upon the back of one picture, by some former owner. This Capt. Richard Byron was grand-uncle of the famous poet, Lord Byron. He was born in 1728 and apparently, after quitting the navy, became a clergyman. It is not known in what capacity Cap- tain Byron visited Boston.
The view which shows Long Wharf was evidently taken from Fort Hill. That which gives us the South End and Roxbury must have been taken from the highland which overhung the Charles River, and near the line of Mt. Vernon street and Louisburg square. In the centre we see the Common, and on its westerly edge Fox Hill, a mound of sand and stones noted on our maps but removed soon after the Revolution. This view should be studied in connection with one published in the Massachusetts Magazine for November 1790, re- printed in Stark's " Antique Views." That picture was evidently made from the easterly end of this same hill, not far from the State House site. For the topography, consult Bowditch's "Gleaner " articles, reprinted as the Fifth Report of the Boston Record Commis- sioners.
The Third view is evidently taken from the same elevation, perhaps at a point more northerly or beyond Pinckney street. Charlestown is shown in the distance, and Cambridge seems to be very near.
The extreme rarity of such pictures of this date will be a sufficient excuse for the substitution of them for the Des Barres map in this edition.
The reader is referred for other pictures and descriptions of Boston to the Memorial History in 4 volumes, 1883 ; Rambles in Old Boston, New England, by Rev. E. G. Porter, 1887, pp. 439 ; Homes of our Forefathers, by Edwin Whitefield, 1889 ; a collection of 12 Sketches, 123 by 16 inches, by Geo. R. Tolman, 1882 : and Antique Views of Boston by J. H. Stark, 1882. There are moreover many Guide- Books and similar works which contain pictures of buildings or localities. The subject however is too large and too tempting to be more than indicated here. Boston is indeed fortunate in the materials which have been preserved for its history, and though at present they are somewhat scattered, the student can easily trace them.
xix
PREFATORY NOTE.
P. 123. It would be necessary to write another chapter to do justice to the changes which have taken place at the Back Bay, since Shurtleff wrote. As a matter of contemporaneous history, moreover, it would be beyond the scope of this book. A few figures will give an idea of what has been done there.
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