USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > Historic houses and spots in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and near-by towns; > Part 3
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THE BACON HOUSE
has been occupied by six generations of that name since its erection about 1682. It is on the hill on Mill Street, about a mile from its junction with Page Street. It is a large two- story house, facing the south, and commands a beautiful and extended prospect up and down the valley of the Shawshine.
On the opposite side of the street and a half-mile south- ward is to be seen one of the
PAGE HOUSES.
One of the family was a captain of minute-men and led in the fight at Concord bridge, April 19, 1775.
Among the historic relics of the town is the banner carried by the company on that day. The house is probably two hundred years old, but seems likely to last many more. One of the oldest of the Page houses has been recently removed and remodeled. It stands on Page Street, on the other side of the farm, which was once five hundred acres in extent. Page is, and always has been, an honored name in Bedford and Billerica. The old farm, much reduced in size, is now owned by descendants of the family of the eighth generation.
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Bedford.
Opposite the place where Page Street crosses the Shaw- shine River is the
KENRICK HOUSE,
or tavern, Benjamin Danforth being the keeper at the time of the incorporation of the town, the house being commonly known as the
"SHAWSHINE."
It occupies the probable site of the Shawshine trading post of the time of King Philip. Its location at the head of navigation for canoes shows how wisely the spot was chosen to aid the Indians in bartering the products of the chase for the goods of the white man.
But of all the historic spots of Bedford and Billerica there is none that will have a more lasting interest than
THE BROTHER ROCKS,
located on the east bank of the Concord River, about two miles from Bedford Springs.
The following extract from John Winthrop's journal of April 24, 1638, will explain the origin of the name :
" The Governour and Deputy [Dudley] went to Concord to view some land for farms, and, going down the river about four miles, they made choice of a place for one thousand acres for each of them. . . . At the place where the Deputy's land was to begin, there were two great stones, which they called The Two Brothers, in remembrance that they were brothers by their children's marriage and did so brotherly agree."
This interesting incident has been commemorated by " Winthrop-1638" on one of the rocks and " Dudley " on the other.
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Billerica.
Not to know Billerica is to be ignorant of the most beau- tiful, healthful, and enterprising hill town of the Common- wealth. This is certainly the opinion of its residents, and the one who would contend for the contrary would need to be armed with stout arguments.
Her public library, the gift of an old resident, Mrs. Bennett, while stocked with choice books in goodly num- ber, also contains a valuable collection of historic bric-a-brac, under the guardianship of the Billerica Historical Society.
This society is engaged at the present time in the praise- worthy work of designating by tablets in stone the historic houses and spots of the town. At North Billerica, easily seen from both the street and steam cars, is a massive bowlder with the following inscription :
BIRTHPLACE AND HOME OF
ASA POLLARD,
FIRST TO FALL AT BUNKER HILL, JUNE 17, 1775.
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Billerica.
Near the Billerica line, though in the town of Burlington, stands, in a very dilapidated and weatherworn condition,
THE AMOS WYMAN HOUSE.
It is the farmhouse, and is reached with about equal ease from Billerica and Woburn (formerly in the latter town) by the road connecting the towns, known as the " Boston " road. It is on a road at right angles with the " Boston " road, and about a mile from where the latter crosses the Shawshine.
The name of Wyman is, and has been, a prominent and honored one in Charlestown, Woburn, and Billerica for two hundred years, or since the arrival of the two brothers, John and Francis, who finally settled in Woburn in 1640. Amos was probably a son of one of these, and built the house that bears his name in 1666. The house stands upon an em- bankment buttressed by a stone wall, the top of which is reached by rude stone steps. In front of the embankment
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THE AMOS WYMAN HOUSE.
stand five giant buttonwoods that must have been planted soon after the house was built. At the southeast corner of the house is the well from which is drawn by the primitive " sweep " the most delicious water.
The present owner, who has lived in the house for the past seventy-one years, is Joshua Reed, born in the vicinity April 3, 1801. A bit of money placed in his palm gives one the "freedom of the house." A noticeable oddity is the peculiar construction of the cellar stairs. To parallel stringers of oak placed at the proper slant are fastened, with large wooden pins, triangular blocks of solid wood. This may have been common in the early days, but no similar case is known to us. Bits of fluted finish still cling about the front door, an indication that the builder was a person of means in his day.
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Lancaster.
Probably each particular town in the State has some pecu- liar excellence not possessed by the others, at least in the same degree. It is certainly true that the visitor to Lan- caster is struck by the rich and varied beauty that Nature has bestowed upon the town. It is here that the north and the south branches unite to form the Nashua River; here are to be found a dozen or more ponds and lakes that nestle enchantingly among the hills; and here are her far-famed Intervales, of rich arable land ; so that one readily sees the fitness of the common expression " Beautiful Lancaster."
The various attacks upon the town by the Indians, in 1675-6, under the instigation of the wily King Philip, are matters of history.
It is not so generally known, however, that in the last massacre and conflagration of February 9, 1776, only two buildings escaped, -the one a church, the other a house known as
THE JONATHAN LOCKE HOUSE.
It is now the residence of a gentleman by the name of Mr. N. C. Hawkins, who has owned and lived in it since 1859.
The owner takes commendable pride in the old house, and keeps it in excellent repair. "In old times there was a rope hanging from the rooftree and reaching to a well in the cellar, enabling the family to get water if besieged by an enemy."
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Medford.
THE ISAAC ROYALL HOUSE.
It was built by Colonel Isaac Royall, previously a West Indian merchant, in 1737, and was at the time considered one of the finest mansions in North America. He brought with him twenty-seven domestic slaves, for whose accommo- dation was erected a building of brick, now standing a little to the south of the mansion itself. During the siege of Boston it was the headquarters of General John Stark, of New Hampshire. It was also occupied for brief periods by General Sullivan and General Charles Lee, the latter giving it the name of " Hobgoblin Hall."
The builder lived to enjoy his beautiful home but two years. After the Revolution it was restored to his son, Isaac, who founded the first professorship of law at Har- vard. The house is located on Main Street, corner of Royall, nearly a half-mile from the center of the city.
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Medford.
THE CRADOCK HOUSE.
It was so called from Matthew Cradock, first governor of the Massachusetts Company in New England, and was built in 1634. It is probably the first brick house built in the colony, and claims to be the oldest now standing in North America. Visitors should notice the circular portholes in the second story, as they will then more clearly understand the name of "The Old Fort," given it by the early inhabit- ants of "Mistick."
It is now the property of ex-Mayor Lawrence, who has shown much public spirit in restoring it to its primitive con- dition as regards its exterior. It is situated on River Street, on the north side of the Mystic, and nearly midway between the cities of Medford and Malden.
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Medford.
On Grove Street, West Medford, on the celebrated Peter Chardon Brooks estate, is to be seen a brick wall, capped with slabs of freestone, which is about seventy feet in length, and is said to have been built by slaves more than two hun- dred years ago.
Not far from this wall is a noted black walnut tree twenty feet in circumference, and supposed to be four hundred years old.
Also within the grounds of Mr. Francis Brooks is to be seen a granite pillar with the following inscription :
To SAGAMORE JOHN AND THOSE MYSTIC INDIANS WHOSE BONES LIE HERE.
Sagamore John of Medford, Sagamore James of Lynn, and Sagamore George of Salem were sons of Sachem Nanephasemet.
At Medford Center stands a fine brick building bearing the name of Joseph Seacom, and erected in 1756.
THE JONATHAN BROOKS HOUSE,
No. 2 Woburn Street, facing Rock Hill, is about two hun- dred years old, and may be easily distinguished by three fine sycamores in front.
A part of the house next to the above, No. 309 High Street, is equally old, and boasts the possession of a clock made in 1743. It keeps the time even now with surprising accuracy.
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Winchester.
Winchester was formed chiefly of the territory formerly known as South Woburn, but includes some portions of West Cambridge (Arlington) and Medford.
The name was given in honor of William P. Winchester, a public-spirited citizen of Boston. The town was incorpo- rated May 7, 1850.
Perhaps the most famous old house ever within its limits was
THE BLACK HORSE TAVERN.
It was built, in 1742, on Black Horse Hill, Maine Street, facing the Black Horse Terrace of to-day, and was standing as late as a dozen years ago, the march of improvement requiring its demolition. It was a rallying point for the minute-men, and they met here on the morning of the battle of Lexington.
It is worthy of remark that it was made a resting-place by Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) and his friend, Loammi Baldwin, during their long walk from North Woburn to Harvard to listen to the lectures of Professor Winthrop.
BROOKS HOUSE.
At Symmes' Corner was standing till recently the birth- place of John Brooks. It was built more than a hundred and seventy years ago. He was governor from 1816 to 1823. He did important military service in the Revolu- tion, his most brilliant achievement being the storming and carrying of the German intrenchments at Saratoga.
Winchester has many interesting historic spots that will undoubtedly be marked by permanent tablets in the near future. One would like to see the site of Squaw Sachem's wigwam, corner of Church and Cambridge Streets, thus in- dicated. That of her husband, the powerful Nanephasemet (New Moon), was on Rock Hill, High Street, corner of Hast- ing's Lane, West Medford, and commanded a fine view of the Mystic. To describe adequately the natural beauties of Winchester would require many pages and a gifted pen.
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Malden.
Malden is among the most wealthy and enterprising of our group of new cities, having increased in population more than tenfold since 1871.
It has at least one pre-Revolutionary house worthy of mention, which is commonly known as the
MISSIONARY HOUSE,
and is numbered 145 Main Street, corner of Wilson Avenue. It was built, about 1733, as a parsonage for the Rev. Joseph Emerson, but is especially distinguished as the birthplace of the Rev. Adoniram Judson, who was born August 9, 1788, and who was the first missionary from this country to Burmah.
He went to Burmah in 1813, translated the Bible into Burmese, and wrote a Burmese-English dictionary. He died at sea in 1850.
" How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace."
The old house stands within ample grounds, and is quite embowered in trees, the most noticeable one being a mag- nificent specimen of buttonwood, or American sycamore.
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Woburn.
BENJAMIN THOMPSON HOUSE. (COUNT RUMFORD.)
This house, built in 1714 by Ebenezer Thompson, grand- father of the count, and now carefully preserved by a society formed for the purpose, is the birthplace of the famous Count Rumford, who was born here March 26, 1753. It is No. 90 Elm Street, North Woburn, adjacent to land occu- pied by the ancestors of ex-President Cleveland.
During a part of the war of the Revolution he fought against the Colonists. At the close of the war he entered the service of the King of Bavaria, from whom, on account of great service to the State, he received the title of Count of Rumford, the name Rumford formerly being the name of Concord, New Hampshire, where he at one time taught school. He deserves credit as an original scientific investi- gator and discoverer, and also as being one of the founders
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BENJAMIN THOMPSON HOUSE.
of the far-famed Royal Institution of Great Britain, having drawn up its original plan in 1799.
He gave five thousand dollars to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an equal sum to the Royal Society, London, and founded the Rumford professorship at Har- vard. He died in 1814.
THE BALDWIN HOUSE.
Another Woburn house much sought for by visitors to this interesting town is that of Colonel Baldwin (now No. 12 Elm Street, North Woburn), a friend of Count Rumford, though he fought with the patriots at Lexington and during the siege of Boston. The house was built, in 1661, by Henry Baldwin, the great-grandfather of the colonel.
Colonel Baldwin was the engineer under whose supervi- sion the Middlesex Canal was constructed, a portion of which is still to be seen on the Brooks estate, near Mystic Pond, West Medford. The Baldwin apple was named for the colonel.
Woburn was incorporated in 1642, and was previously known as "Charlestown Village."
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Stoneham.
Stoneham was a part of Charlestown, known as " Charles- town End," till 1725, when it was incorporated under its present name. Its first settler was Richard Holden, who removed to that part of Charlestown in 1640. A goodly number of his descendants are still living here and in the mother town.
Among the most interesting of its old houses is
THE JONATHAN GREEN HOUSE,
standing erect upon its "foot-square " oak sills during the summers and winters of nearly two hundred years. The old house, bereft of its ancient massive chimney, is still in the possession of the descendants of Richard Green. They have a tradition that slaves at one time performed the labor on the estate, which consisted of nearly five hundred acres and extended to Spot Pond.
It is numbered 37 Perkins Street, and is just across the line from the beautiful and picturesque Melrose Highlands.
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Somerville.
A SHARP FIGHT OCCURRED HERE BETWEEN THE PATRIOTS AND THE BRITISH APRIL 19, 1775.
THIS MARKS BRITISH SOLDIERS' GRAVES.
The house in front of which this tablet stands was built by Timothy Tufts, and was a witness of the " sharp fight."
It is now (1897) the home of Mr. Timothy Tufts, grand- son of the builder, and a genial old gentleman of seventy- eight years of age. It is on Elm Street, corner of Willow.
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Somerville.
THE SAMUEL TUFTS HOUSE.
No one acquainted with the part that General Nathaniel Greene took in establishing the liberties of our country ever speaks or thinks of him without feelings of admiration second only to those felt for Washington himself.
This house, on Somerville Avenue, near Loring Street, was General Greene's headquarters during the siege of Boston. Past this house marched the British on their way to Lexington ; the owner at the time, says The Somerville Journal, was in his kitchen running bullets.
The house is well preserved, but is not outwardly im- proved by the addition of modern chimney-tops.
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Somerville.
On Sycamore Street, near the railroad crossing, stands, though recently removed a few rods from its old site for street improvement, the John Tufts House. During the siege of Boston it was the headquarters of General Charles Lee.
Southwest of this lies the most beautiful and famous Pros- pect Hill of Somerville, once called Mt. Pisgah. It is the site of the great earthwork built, by order of General Putnam, after the retreat from Bunker Hill.
Here, animated by a commendable public and patriotic spirit, the city has mounted several massive cannon on sub- stantial iron carriages.
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Somerville.
THE OLD POWDER HOUSE.
Near Tufts College, Somerville, is one of the most inter- esting relics of Colonial times to be met with in the Old Bay State.
It was built about the beginning of the eighteenth cen- tury by one John Mallet as a mill for grinding corn.
It became the property of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1747, and was used as a powder magazine till a more commodious one was built on Captain Patrick's Island,
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THE OLD POWDER HOUSE.
Charles River, now a ruin, at the foot of Magazine Street, Cambridge.
The British, September 1, 1774, came here and seized two hundred and fifty half-barrels of powder. The legend (see Drake's Landmarks of Middlesex) takes one back to the time and home of Evangeline.
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Somerville.
Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill a strong five-sided earthwork was made by the Americans on Winter Hill, to command the Mystic and the approach by land to Medford. It was under the command of General Sullivan.
General John Sullivan was born in Berwick, Maine, in 1740. He took part in the battles of Trenton and Prince- ton, and led the right wing of the army at the battle of Brandywine. He was afterward made attorney-general of New Hampshire, and was three times "president " of that State. His brother, James, also born in Berwick, was twice elected governor of Massachusetts.
On Main Street, opposite its junction with Broadway, is a tablet with the following inscription :
PAUL REVERE
PASSED OVER THIS ROAD ON HIS MIDNIGHT RIDE TO LEXINGTON AND CONCORD APRIL 18, 1775.
SITE OF THE WINTER HILL FORT, A STRONGHOLD BUILT BY THE AMERICAN FORCES WHILE BESIEGING BOSTON 1775-6.
Somerville.
8 1
JOHN WOOLWICH, INDIAN TRADER, BUILT NEAR THIS PLACE IN 1630. THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER
ON SOMERVILLE SOIL.
This tablet is on Washington Street (the continuation of Kirkland Street, Cambridge), corner of Dane, not far from the boundary line between the cities of Somerville and Cambridge.
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Boston.
It would be interesting to know how many persons in New England are able to trace pleasing associations with the name of Boston to the early recollections of their child- hood. We suspect the number is legion. Her history and traditions are so worthy and noble- so numerous are her deeds of patriotism and works of philanthropy-as to be sure to inspire in young minds sentiments of love and respect.
To know Boston well, -her educators, scholars, and states- men, her benevolent institutions and her institutions of learn- ing, - would be in itself a liberal education. It must needs be of no small interest, therefore, to know something of her infancy and childhood in a brief consideration of some of her most famous old buildings and historic spots.
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Boston.
OPPOSITE THIS SPOT
WAS SHED
THE FIRST BLOOD
OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
A tablet with the above inscription is to be seen on a building on State Street, corner of Exchange. "Opposite this spot " refers to the place of the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770.
Directly opposite this tablet is the site of the first church in Boston, the first minister being the Rev. John Wilson, the very man whose harangue from the branches of an old oak on Cambridge Common decided an election for gov- ernor against Henry Vane and in favor of John Winthrop. This first church was built in 1632, and was a rude structure of logs with a thatched roof.
Dorchester Heights, South Boston, now Telegraph Hill, has upon it a granite monument telling that on this ridge Washington placed the batteries that drove the British from Boston. Dorchester Heights was a part of the town of Dorchester till 1804.
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Boston.
THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
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Boston.
THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
The affectionate regard in which this venerable meeting- house is held extends much beyond the limits of Boston. It was built in 1729 on its present site, Washington Street, corner of Milk. It was for a long time the rallying point for patriots in times of political excitement, and for the dis- cussion of questions of moment to the Colony. It was here that the " Indians " donned their fantastic suits preparatory to emptying the tea into the harbor. The British, during the Revolutionary War, used it for cavalry drill and exercise, thus causing Washington to remark that he could not under- stand the reverence of the British for their own churches when they so readily desecrated this.
The church was bought of the owners, by the Old South Preservation Society, for $430,000, and is now a rich mu- seum of historic relics.
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Boston.
THE OLD STATE HOUSE.
Where the Old State House now stands stood the Town House of 1657. This was succeeded in 1713 by a State House, and this in turn by the present building, erected in 1748, at the head of State Street. Directly in front of the eastern end of the building the Boston Massacre took place, March 5, 1770.
" Here," says John Adams, "Independence was born."
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THE OLD STATE HOUSE.
And it was here that the patriots, Samuel and John Adams, James Otis, and Joseph Warren contended against British oppression with a zeal and stoutness of heart born of the profoundest conviction.
It is now a museum in charge of the Bostonian Society, and contains two thousand or more historic objects of great interest and value to the student of Colonial times.
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Boston.
FANEUIL HALL.
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Boston.
FANEUIL HALL.
Peter Faneuil, a descendant of the Huguenots, was born at New Rochelle, New York, in 1700, and died in Boston at the age of forty-three years.
" He possessed a large estate, and employed it in doing good."
Faneuil Hall, the " Cradle of Liberty," was built by him and presented to the city of Boston for a market and public hall, the hall to be for the perpetual use of the people free of charge.
If it be the object of a monument to perpetuate the memory, how excellent is the one Peter Faneuil erected to himself in the noble building that bears his name !
The original building was finished in 1743, but, being burnt, was rebuilt in 1763, the dedicatory oration being de- livered by James Otis. In 1806 it was greatly enlarged under the direction of the celebrated architect, Bulfinch.
Its walls have resounded to more genuine eloquence than those of any other building in Boston, for here have spoken the Adamses, Otis, Warren, Webster, and a host of others. To look upon the works of art that adorn its walls is in itself an inspiration, for here are to be seen portraits of Wash- ington, Knox, Hancock, the Adamses, Governor Andrew, General Warren, Faneuil, Lincoln, Everett, Commodore Preble, and Webster in the act of replying to Hayne in the United States' Senate.
It is between North and South Market Streets.
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Boston.
HOUSE OF PAUL REVERE.
In North Square there is now standing an old house of the " overhang " pattern, having on its front a tablet with the following inscription :
HERE LIVED
PAUL REVERE
1770-1800.
PLACED BY
PAUL REVERE CHAPTER
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The house in which he was born, January 1, 1735, stood on Hanover (then North), opposite Clark Street, near the corner of Tileston. He was the son of Paul and Deborah (Hitchborn) Revere, descendants of a noble Huguenot family, and was the third of twelve children. He learned of his father the art of working in silver and gold, and taught himself to engrave on copper, money for the Provin- cial Congress being printed from plates engraved by him.
He also established a foundry for casting bells and cannon in Boston and a copper rolling mill in Canton, Massachu- setts, still bearing his name. He was educated at the North Grammar School, North Bennett Street, with which school John Tileston was connected as pupil, teacher, and master for eighty years. His place of worship was chiefly the " New Brick Church," commonly known as the "Cockerel Church," the site of which is now occupied by the Boston Seaman's Friend Society building, numbered 287 Hanover Street,
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HOUSE OF PAUL REVERE.
nearly opposite Parmenter. After a service of one hundred and forty-eight years on the spire of the New Brick Church, the "cockerel," made by Deacon Shem Drowne, is still doing duty as a weather-vane from the lofty spire of the Shepard Memorial Church, Cambridge. Paul Revere was a staunch patriot, one of the Boston "Tea Party," whose memory is perpetuated in the Revere House, Boston, in the town of Revere, formerly North Chelsea, but in no way more lastingly than in "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," by Longfellow.
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Boston.
KING'S CHAPEL.
This historic old church stands on Tremont Street, cor- ner of School, and was the first Episcopal Church in New England. It was here that Oliver Wendell Holmes wor- shiped for the most part, and of it he speaks in words of affection. It is now a Unitarian Church.
THE OLD NORTH CHURCH.
The building was torn down by the British in 1775. It fronted North Square, about which there lived in Colonial times several aristocratic families.
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Boston.
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