USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Charlestown > Century of town life; a history of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1775-1887 > Part 9
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MONUMENTS.
Cary, 1740-1. There are 9 tombs with hewn granite fronts all (except two small, eastward) on the N. W. slope, and lettered Joseph Hunnewell, Thomas Hunnewell, Joseph Smith, Charles Perry (two, where Union soldiers are buried), James Hunne- well (with an obelisk of polished red Scotch granite), and Walker. The small number of other monuments (very few of which are enclosed) are modern. A great many stones bear dates through the last century ; these, like all inscriptions here, have been carefully copied by E. N. and A. Coburn. It should also be added that the Ground is now in the care of the mu- nicipal authorities of Boston.
Bunker Hill Monument is of national interest, not only as a memorial of the great opening battle - and one of the most important actions-of the Revolution, but also as one of the earliest, and, for a long while, the largest, works of its kind in the country. Its history, although several times told, can well be condensed here from a dozen or more publications. Wm. Tudor is said to have first advocated purchase of the battle-ground and the erection on it of a grand monument. He and four other gentlemen acted together (1823), the Russell pasture (22 acres) was bought, costing $1,250, and (June 27) 24 gentlemen were incorporated as the B. H. M. Association, and 25 more were elected members. To solicit funds, a prospectus was, in July, distributed through the country, followed (Sep. 20, 1824) by an 8° " circular " from the Directors, and (Oct. 1) by an earnest printed appeal, sent to the Selectmen in Massa- chusetts. In 1825, an Act of the Legislature to aid (in ham- mering stone at the Prison, and in taking land) was passed (Feb. 26) ; more land was secured (in all, 15 acres, costing $23,232.43), and a subscription was headed in Boston by Hon. Wm. Phillips with $1,000, and David Sears and Peter C. Brooks $500 each. By Sep. 1 the amount raised was $54,- 433.67, and meanwhile, June 17th, the corner-stone was laid with a great deal of ceremony (that by the report, 1830, cost $4,720.85). Plans had been considered, and (Oct. 1) Solo- mon Willard, a " self-educated man," was unanimously elected architect, and his design of the existing obelisk was adopted. In Feb., 1829, fourteen courses (37} ft. high) stood above
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ground, and hoisting works together with a large quantity of cut stone were on the spot; but the funds were exhausted, and operations were suspended. Work was only resumed June 17, 1834, and continued until Nov., 1835, when a height of 85 feet was reached.
Further attempts were made to obtain money. A lottery, then a recognized and common mode, was petitioned for (Dec., 1829), but abandoned ; an appeal for direct aid from the State was unsuccessful; an Address to its citizens (8°, pp. 8) was issued (1831), and a Report (8º, pp. 15, 1832). Controversy ensued, then the financial crisis (1836-40), and the Associa- tion became embarrassed, so that a large amount of the land was sold at auction (Wed., Sep. 25, 1839).1 At length the ladies did what the men could not, or did not do; they held a Fair (Sep. 8-15, 1840) in Quincy Hall, Boston, that netted the then unexampled and splendid sum of $30,035.53. Amos Lawrence of Boston, and Judah Truro of New Orleans, each added $10,000. Work was again resumed (Nov., 1840), and on Saturday, July 23, 1842, at 6 A.M., the top stone was raised. Jas. S. Savage was the contractor, and Solomon Willard saw the completion of his own design. June 17, 1843, there was a great celebration of the event, attended by many prominent men, including John Tyler, President of the United States. For years (1835-40) the unfinished obelisk had stood sur- rounded by a maze of granite blocks and a wild area of grass-ground, and later by rough banks and newly graded lots. Until 1843, a sloping road, with flat stone tracks for wheels, led from the S. E. corner to the monument. Soon afterwards, all this was changed, and the present Square was substantially completed. In 1857, a white marble statue of Gen. Warren, by Henry Dexter, was placed in a wooden lodge northward, and in 1871 Monument Avenue was opened from Main Street, giving a better approach, and a much better view
1 As the Square then laid out was unsurpassed by any other in or close to, Boston, it is of interest to note the prices obtained for lots. Jacob Foss (of C.) gave the highest price, 41 cts. per foot, at the corner of High and Concord Streets, while the lowest was 10 cts., paid by W. Appleton, for land between Monument and Concord Streets.
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MONUMENTS.
of the obelisk. Up to 1878 the total cost, including land, was $133,649.83. Towards this cost Charlestown contributed lib- erally. By the Report in 1830, we can count 518 subscribers there, giving $4,029. From Nathan Tufts came the only legacy ever received, $1,000. Proceeds from the town's table at the Fair (1840) were second in amount received at any, or $1,546.37. Subscribers to the Warren statue gave $1,250 (out of $5,125 raised). These items make a total of $7,825.37. While a part of the money obtained at the Fair did not come from the town, other amounts have, so that it is within bounds to say that six per cent - nearly one sixteenth- of the cost of this national work was given by the townspeople. To be sure, about $14,000 was paid sundry of them for land, but at the sale (1839) others largely offset it by their purchases.
President G. W. Warren's copious History (1877) and Re- ports of the Association supply many of the particulars already given. For those about the great obelisk, reference is made to President Frothingham's "Siege " (1849), where (p. 356) the height is given at 221 feet, the diameter 30 feet at the base and half as much at the top. Below the surface of the ground is a foundation 12 feet deep, composed of heavy stones (12 x 2} x 2 feet), and upward through the centre of the interior is a cylin- der 10 feet across at the bottom and 61 at the top. In the middle of it is a well, and around it a stairway with 294 steps leading to a room 11 feet across and 17 feet high, with an arched top, lighted by four small windows. Cut granite is used for all parts above ground, and for those below, the same material uncut. It may be added that the ground adjacent has been graded regularly, and shows little or none of the original surface, but nearly the original elevation. An area of about four acres making the Square, 400 feet on each side, is en- closed by an iron fence, without and within which is a line of trees growing slowly yet now of considerable size. From the surrounding streets four granite stairs lead up a bank on all sides of the area, and paths extend thence to the monument. Criticised as the work may be, it is a grand one, eminent on its historic site, noble among the historical memorials built in modern times.
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Two other monuments are closely connected with it. Inside is a white marble model of the first monument here, erected in 1794 by King Solomon's Lodge of Charlestown. It was a square wooden Tuscan pillar on a brick base, in all about 30 feet high, that was at last rather mysteriously damaged or destroyed in 1825. In front of the obelisk stands one of the very best and most appropriate statues, at least, in the State, a bronze figure (1881) of Col. Wm. Prescott, his long, loose " banyan coat " thrown open by the wind, his sword in hand, his broad-brimmed hat on his head, his attitude just what it was when he looked at the coming charge. The work is at once an honor to those who gave it, to William W. Story the sculptor, and to the hero of the redoubt in the battle of Bunker Hill. (See Frontispiece.)
After the war for preserving the Union, the struggle to found which fully began on Bunker Hill, other events and heroes were to be commemorated, and Charlestown, like a great number of places, raised a Soldiers' Monument to those who had gone from it, and had fallen in the national defence. Some thought that a memorial of volunteers in this service should be paid for by voluntary contributions, but other opin- ions prevailed, and the cost was defrayed by taxation. A square base bearing three large figures, all designed by Martin Milmore and made of Hallowell granite, stands in the old Trainingfield, now very neatly and prettily laid out. The work was dedicated June 17, 1872. As a class, the numerous memorials of this kind are far greater evidences of affection- ate regard for the soldiers and sailors than of genius in art. Whatever may be thought of this particular work, it is very much superior to not a few well-meant and expensive objects to be seen in the country, and that make us glad that the de- fenders of the flag have a great deal more honor than is done them in some of the designs.
NATIONAL AND STATE INSTITUTIONS.
Appropriately, close by the first great battle-ground of Inde- pendence, the new national government established one of its
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NATIONAL AND STATE INSTITUTIONS.
most important stations for the defence of what was secured by the Revolution. A site had been proposed at Noddle's Island, but a committee on the part of the town represented (1800), that this would be " almost as injurious to it as a second conflagration." While still embarrassed by their " unequalled Sufferings " in the late war, the townspeople, as they then stated, were, after years of "industrious application " enabled "to sustain a decent rank with [their] fellow citizens at large," and they urged that a site they proposed should be chosen. On June 17, 1800, the Legislature authorized the United States to purchase land in Charlestown for the Navy Yard, and " between 40 and 50 acres," " valued by a Jury at $37,280," were bought, or at about half the price asked by the owners. This area was very well situated beside some of the deepest water and in one of the most secure parts of the har- bor, and also included the landing-place of the British troops on June 17, 1775. Both land and sea-front were by degrees well laid out, and what is thought to be one of the best pieces of property of its kind owned by the nation has been the result. The chief structure on it is a dry dock of hewn granite (341 × 80 feet, and 30 deep), planned by Loammi Baldwin, and built (1827-34) at a cost of $670,089. A ropewalk (1836), said to be the best in the country, also of granite (1360 ft. long), is of one story, except at the northerly end, where a second (748 ft.) was added (1856), and where there is a head-house (60 × 70 ft.) of three stories. One of the ear- liest buildings (1803) is of brick, near the entrance to the Yard, and of the same material is the large house of the Com- mandant (1809). Trees and grass-grounds well arranged make the place really beautiful in summer. Purchases of land and covering of flats have increased the area to 871 acres, while liberal expenditure of money, with rise in the value of real estate, make the establishment represent a very large sum. A much larger one would not now, however, se- cure another as well placed and fitted. There are shiphouses (3), high and substantial timber-sheds (4), granite store- houses (4), wet docks, the dry dock, and over twenty other well-built structures for various purposes. For the names of
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the many distinguished commandants (about 25), and of the famous vessels built here (21 before 1860, and 40 since), be- sides a great number refitted, reference should be made to the account written by the late Admiral Geo. H. Preble (Mem. Hist. Boston, iii.), -an account so good that it makes us re- gret that a full history prepared by him has not been printed.
In 1800 (Jan. 22) the Legislature appointed a committee to select and procure land in Charlestown for a State Prison. About five acres, including flats, were bought beside a bay in the northerly bank of Charles River, and during 1804-5, a building (200 × 28 to 44 ft.) of hewn stone, four and five sto- ries high, and another of brick (227 x 25 ft.) for workshops, were erected. There was also a workyard (375 x 260 ft.), and the establishment was surrounded by a high strong wall. On the whole work $170,000 were spent. At the time writers stated that the institution commanded a "rich and variegated prospect," and a belief was cherished that it would help to " promote the happiness of the town." Convicts were first re- ceived Dee. 12, 1805 (during that month 34), and afterwards in gradually increasing numbers, so that by Aug., 1816, there were 280, guarded by 15 officers. An insurrection was once attempted, when several prisoners scaled the walls, but all of them except one were retaken. Subsequently a man has now and then escaped, but outbreaks of any sort have been uncom- mon, and, indeed, the management has been such that it has not caused any large amount of controversial printing. Work of various sorts has been given to persons who were, or could be, fitted for it; firm, even discipline has been maintained, and one in the neighborhood, not knowing of the Prison, would hardly be aware that it existed, it is so quiet and well ordered. Additions to the buildings were from time to time made as needed before 1850, when an octagonal central structure (73 x 68 ft. inside, and 701 ft. high), and a new wing (90 x 48 x 41 ft.), all of granite, were erected. In 1874 the construction of a new prison at Concord was authorized, and this at Charles- town was not used for several years ; but after a costly experi- ment had been tried, it was reoccupied, and continues to prove well adapted to its appointed purposes. During the passing
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ELEVATION of the MASSACHUSETTS STATE PRISON.
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NATIONAL AND STATE INSTITUTIONS.
years it has become environed by railroads and buildings, losing its original retirement, and even a certain picturesqueness, yet not its convenience and security. Even the costumes of those connected with it have been hardly less changed ; the officers are better dressed or uniformed, and a red and blue longitudi- nal half-and-half garb for those they watched has been discarded for less conspicuous attire. Of course while the population of the State has been increasing rapidly, so also has the number of inmates, now varying from 550 to 600. Reports that have been printed since 1841, a history, descriptions in four publica- tions with six large plates, and many pamphlets (see Bibliog- raphy), supply an unusual amount of information about the rise, growth, and management of this institution.
Near the westerly bank of the bay from Charles River, and opposite the Burial-Ground and Prison, the MeLean Asylum for the Insane was built on a knoll that was Charlestown ground until 1842, when it became a part of Somerville. It is a site of historic interest, known as Miller's, or Cobble, Hill in 1775, when (Nov.) it was fortified and made one of the strong- est points in the line of works built by the Provincial forces during the siege of Boston, commanding the ferry across the river and threatening the British redoubts in Charlestown. Here also, in 1777, were quartered some of the troops captured at Saratoga. After the war the land was bought by Joseph Barrell, a merchant of Boston, who erected (1792) a large house and laid out extensive grounds to which the name of Poplar Grove was given, and that were for years a show place. In the settlement of his affairs, the estate was bought for the important institution that bears the name of another merchant, the honored John McLean, and that was opened Oct. 6, 1818. Three large buildings, two of them with domes, the house of Mr. Barrell, and newer structures that have risen as wanted, all surrounded by gardens, grassgrounds, and trees, are still conspicuons monuments of the beneficence of the founder. Extensive usefulness, superior accommodations, and high repu- tation, have distinguished the Asylum.
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A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
OLD HOUSES.
The oldest building in Charlestown that the writer has vis- ited, and, indeed, has known of as existing in his time, was the house bought by Charles Hunnewell in 1710, and occupied by four generations of his descendants.1 It was probably built about 1690, and was destroyed perhaps five and twenty years ago, certainly through no fault of the late James Hunnewell, who made all due effort for its preservation. Built of wood, two stories high, with narrow windows, a huge chimney in the middle, and low rooms having plastered ceilings crossed by stout, painted beams, it had a snugness and quaintness in- creased by really picturesque surroundings ; for it stood back from the road on a couple of little terraces flanked on one side by a garden with a row of very large lilac shrubs, and on the other by a few good-sized elms. In earlier times there was a pleasant outlook from the front towards Cambridge meeting- house, less than a mile distant, while behind the ground gently rose to a considerable height from which there was a wide prospect. At present it would be hard enough to find a house that has stood not merely through the American Revolution, but that dates almost from the English of 1688, and is as pretty a relic of carly Provincial domestic life. Indeed, this old homestead would not have been out of keeping amid the rural beauty of old England itself.
I The only printed historieal account of the occupants (a brief one is in the "Journal of the Voyage of the Missionary Packet, Boston to Honolulu, 1826, by James Hunnewell," 4º, 1880 (the writer's privately printed work, no. viii. ), in which also is a Memoir of the Author of the Journal, who was born in this house. Charles Hunnewell, mentioned above, as evidence still shows, was esteemed as a good neighbor, and was in what are called comfortable circumstances, in which, it appears, he was exceeded by but few of his fellow townsmen in his time. Hle and his descendants were quiet, law-abiding people, apt to mind their own business, go to meeting on Sunday, and not be over anxious for public office. In several docu- ments all are called "yeomen," as at first is William (fourth generation, and father of James), but who subsequently, in several cases, is styled " gentleman." The oldest of their books, that the writer has, is a Bible bought by William (grandson of Charles), who paid £6. 10s. for it. As his writing is not quite so bad as that of some of the ministers, and his spelling not worse than that of the schoolmaster, he probably had a fair average education, and he evidently liked a good book.
OLD HOUSES.
Of houses burned in 1775 there are, as already stated. few exact or full descriptions. From the best (pp. 118, 124, 188) we can think that there were some of good size and finish ; but as has also been stated (p. 11), while not a few probably were quaint, vague statements at that date are to be credited with reserve.
Several erected at or near the rebuilding are mentioned in this chapter, or in the Survey (pp. 116. 119, 124, 132, 185, 139, 143. 144). One of the most prominent of these, from its posi- tion and the office of its beenpant, was the Parsonage ( Plan II.). of wood (52] x 40,5). and two stories high. Around it was a garden, and on the slight hill slope southward the Parish Chapel (p. 58). There was also a barn (32§ × 193), besides a shed (42} long). All the ground was occupied (1835) by Harvard Row (p. 97), and the house was moved to Elm Street. where it stood until 1886.
When the town was rebuilt, and later, for a period of per- haps forty years, the prevailing English style of building was used, so far as means and the limits of practically available materials allowed. It was what might be called the Georgian style in its simpler forms, in which classic mouldings and cor- nices, and even pillars, were to considerable extent copied with more or less accuracy. So little real architectural character was, however, possible, that a classification of the houses must be by forms or plans rather than by styles.
Two forms were almost exclusively used. By far the more common one of them was an oblong of two or three stories with an end at the sidewalk of the street, a front entry at the middle of the side with a stair, and a room on each hand ; while attached at the inner end was a wing generally two sto- ries high. Along the entrance front was an area of more or less width, lengthwise of which was a path usually paved, be- side which, sometimes, was a bed of flowers lined by borders of box plants. In the area also usually stood two elms, horse- chestnuts, or trees of some sort. The other form was a square of the same height, with four rooms on a floor, and with a similar wing, the front door being usually on the street ; or there was one there and another at the side, and the building
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was made for two families. Houses with both of these plans were made of brick as well as of wood.
Of the oblong form in wood, the three finest houses in the lower part of the town were those of Mrs. Baker (pp. 129-30), I. Warren (p. 131), and J. Hurd (Plan III. 84). The latter house, built about 1795, and now (1887) occupied by his grand- children, is in excellent order. It is painted light brown, is clapboarded, has well moulded window-frames, and a cornice with modillions. It fronts towards a lawn, on which is one of the noblest horsechestnut trees ever in the town, and is entered beneath an Ionic porch, a fine example of the sort attached to some of the older houses. The refinement of the lines and work here, as well as in the window-casings, is in pleasant contrast with some irregular recent designs. Similar in nearly all respects were the first two houses mentioned, that were de- molished several years ago. Other notable oblong wooden houses were those of Dr. J. Bartlett (III. 81), Hon. Benj. Thompson (III. 76), Dr. A. R. Thompson (IV. 126), S. John- son (p. 148), and Maj. Walker, all on Main Street, and all now much altered. Another, that of Mr. Webb, since Mrs. E. F. Adams's, on Cordis Street, had the largest grounds (now reduced), and might be called the pleasantest.
Of brick houses in oblong form there were few. That of M. Bridge (p. 129), later occupied by Edward Everett and others, had a wing at the back. Dr. Walker's (p. 137), with- out a wing, Geo. Bartlett's, Union Street, and E. Breed's were three stories high (the upper one of them low), and faced the street. All of them are now (1887) standing. With an end towards the street are those of Dea. A. Tufts (III. 79), and of Jas. Hunnewell (p. 93). Of square brick houses were those of R. Devens, near the Navy Yard; one at the head of Salem Street, occupied by Mrs. Harrison in 1812; the Makepeace house, built on Main St., near the burial-ground, in 1797, three stories high, ornamented with terra cotta bands, caps, and cornice, and the most elaborate of the earlier brick houses ; and the house built on Charles River Avenue (I. 25) by Hon. Thos. Russell, and not finished at his death (1796). This latter had a front of 52 ft., facing the present Water Street,
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HOUSE OF HON. JAS. RUSSEIT
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OLD HOUSES.
and was about as deep. On each side towards the back was a wing, making the wall of the rear 70 ft. 10 in. long (shown by a plan with a deed). The brick walls were varied by trim- mings of dark stone;1 towards Water St. there was a porch ; 2 towards the Square a yard with an open slat fence;1 and on the top was a " large cupola that cost as much as a house." 3 For many years, and until it was burned in the great fire, Aug. 28, 1835, it was a public house, known as Gordon's, Nichols's, or the Charlestown Hotel (until 18054), Pierce's,5 or, in 1817, the Brick Hotel,2 and finally as the Middlesex House4, 5, kept by Jas. Walker.5
Of the square wooden houses built for one family, the hand- somest that ever stood in the town was built by Hon. James Russell in 17805 (1790 ?). It was at the corner of the Square and Warren Avenue (opened 1828), and was the family mansion not only until his death (1796), but until his daughter died (1819). During the next seventeen years it was occupied by Com. John Shaw, John Soley (G. M., Grand Lodge of Mass.), Andrew Dunlap (U. S. Dist. Attorney 5), and Joseph Thomp- son. In 1835 it became a public house, known as the Mansion House, successively kept by Gorham Bigelow and Jas. Ram- say,5 all the while growing shabby, and still more deprived of its early glory by a row of very dirty houses, popularly called "Dublin Row," that stood on its former garden beside the Ave- nue, until all, along with the mansion, were demolished (1866) and replaced by the southerly part of the Waverley House. In the good old English way the Russells held the ground of their ancestral home until the death of the last resident who bore the name ; and although the situation was unfortunate, directly on the market-place of a growing town, the fine mansion was built there as soon as could be after the fire of 1775, and per- haps thus got a popular name, said to have been given it, of " Russell's Folly."
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