• inu.iii HI. U i.l i n i n ii H M m^ ■ ii u i mpj iwww*w»wpM iwr«*nT i iW nwtgBa^^ 1 y •■ ,-'f H rv a*> ? "^^ tv ~i /u * y i asm- 'uzyktj^ vbu±, -U^ya^L^ 'Uu^S' fc^SHL c^aXi^u^ U^CCs ^^e.& c^it£^/^ View of Boston Taken on the Road Leading to Dorchester. STARK'S Antique Views OF YE TOWNE OF BOSTON. DISCOVERY OF BOSTON HAKBOR. Who were the first discoverers of Boston harbor is not known. Some historians suppose that it was first discovered by the North- men, but this statement cannot be substantiated. The inhabitants of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, were at a very early period of the Christian era acquainted with the science and practice of navigation, far surpassing the people of the South of Europe in building vessels, and managing them upon the sea. The characteristics of these people were of a predatory and piratical nature, who possessed nothing of that thirst for glory of discovery that so eminently distinguished those of the Southern countries. As early as 861, in one of their piratical excursions, they dis- covered Iceland ; and about the year 889 Greenland was discov- ered, and peopled by the Danes, under Eric the Red, a noted chieftain who had to flee his country for murder. Very early in the eleventh century, Biarne, an Icelander, who had visited many countries with his father Heriulf, for trading purposes, being accidently separated in one of the vessels from 10 ANTIQUE VIEW 8 OF BOSTON. his parent, in directing his course to Greenland, was driven by a storm southwesterly to an unknown country, level in its forma- tion, destitute of rocks, and thickly wooded, having an island near its coast. After the storm abated he concluded his voyage to Greenland, and related his discoveries to Lief, the son of Eric the Eed, a person of an adventurous disposition, whose desires he awakened by the recital of his accidental discovery. Lief sailed in the year 1002 on a voyage of discovery, and it is stated that the Icelander visited not only the shores of Greenland and Labrador, but explored the coast of New England, during which they discovered Boston Harbor ; one of the promontories, they named " Krossaness," and which archaeologists have been led to believe was one of the headlands of Boston Harbor, named after- ward by the Plymouth settlers Point Allerton, which is the north- erly termination of Nantasket Beach. These discoveries of the Northmen were forgotten for many years, and as late as the fif- teenth century Greenland was only known to the Norwegians and Danes as the " lost land." It is more than probable that Colum- bus during his voyage heard of the discoveries made by the Northmen, or saw their charts, which caused him to so strongly believe that there was " land to the westward." After the discovery of America by Columbus, many voyagers visited the American coast in the northern latitude before the settlement of New England ; among whom were John Cabot and his son Sebastian, natives of Bristol, who made the first authentic discovery of the American continent. The land thus discovered by the English merchant was a portion of Labrador, which event occurred on the 24th of June, 1497, about thirteen months before Columbus on his third voyage came in sight of the mainland, and nearly two years before Americus Vespucius ventured to follow the illustrious Columbus. FIRST AUTHENTIC DISCOVERT OF BOSTON. In 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold, a daring mariner from the west of England, being possessed of a great desire for discovery, set sail from Yarmouth in a small vessel, with only thirty-two men, and was the first Englishman who came in a direct course and set foot on Massachusetts soil, selecting a small island called Cuttyhunk, situated at the mouth of Buzzards Bay. There, ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 11 upon a little but well wooded island of about one acre of land, in a pond of fresh water, Gosnold built a fort and established a house, the vestiges of which may be seen at the present time ; on the 18th of June, scarcely a month after landing, he sailed with his men for home. In the year 1614, Captain John Smith, of Pocahontas notoriety, a celebrated traveller and navigator, sailed from England, and explored the coast of New England in a boat which he built after his arrival ; by this means he was enabled to explore the bays, harbors, rivers, and difficult and dangerous places, without running any risk or danger of losing his vessel. With eight men for a crew, he explored the coast from the Pen- obscot to Cape Cod, trading with the Indians for furs. On this expedition he discovered Boston Harbor and the Charles River. FIRST INTERVIEW WITH THE INDIANS. THE SETTLEMENT OF BOSTON. After the death of King James in 1625, Charles I. succeeded to the throne, who committed the government of the church to men of arbitrary principles, passionately fond of the established rites and ceremonies, and disposed to press the observance of them with rigid exactness, until at last the very name of bishop 12 ANTIQUE VIEW 8 OF BOSTON. & grew odious to the people, and they were forced to draw their swords in defence of their liberties, whereby the kingdom was involved in the horrors of a civil war. This being the melancholy state of affairs, Rev. John White, minister of Dorchester, England, encouraged by the success of the Plymouth Colony, projected a new settlement in Massachu- setts Bay. Mr. White associated himself with several persons of quality about London, who petitioned the King to confirm their rights by a patent, which he did on the 4th of March, in the fourth year of his reign. Their general business was to be dis- posed and ordered by a Court, composed of a Governor, Deputy Governor, and eighteen Assistants. Their jurisdiction extended from three miles north of the Merrimack to three miles south of the Charles River, and in length from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea. Preparations began to be made with vigor for the embarkation of a great colony. By the end of February, 1630, a fleet of fourteen vessels was furnished with men, women, and children, — all necessary men of handicrafts, and others of good condition, wealth and quality, to make a firm plantation. In this fleet were congregated our forefathers, with their wives and little ones, leaving their native country, kindred, friends, and acquaintances ; perhaps forever, — to break asunder those cords of affection which so powerfully bind one to his native soil, and to dissolve those tender associations which constitute the bliss of civil society. All the fleet, on Monday, March 29, 1630, were riding at anchor at Cowes, Isle of Wight. By head-winds and other causes they were delayed a week, during which they im- proved one day as a fast. On the 8th of April, about six in the morning, the wind being east and by north, and fair weather, they weighed anchor, and set sail. " No accident of any moment occurred on board of the ships. They saw one or two whales, one with a bunch on his back about a yard above water, and all the way were birds flying and swim- ming, when they had no land near by two hundred leagues." On the 3d of June they approached near enough to the coast to get ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 13 soundings in eighty fathoms and regaled themselves with fish of their own catching. On the 8th they had sight of Mount Desert. ' ' So pleasant a scene here they had as did much refresh them ; and there came a smell off the shore like the smell of a garden." Noah could hardly have been more gratified to behold his dove with the olive-leaf in her mouth, than these people must have been to have received a visit from a wild pigeon and another small bird from land. All day on the 11th they stood to, and again within sight of Cape Ann. On Saturday, the 12th, at four in the morning, they gave notice of their approach, from a piece of ordnance, and sent their skiff ashore. In the course of the day, passing through the narrow strait between Baker's and another small island, they came to an- chor in Salem Harbor. The other ships of the fleet came in daily and by the 6th of July, thirteen out of the fourteen had arrived safely, without the loss of more than fifteen lives by sickness oi accident. A day of public thanksgiving was therefore kept on the 8th of that month. The other vessel, the " Mary and John," which brought over Messrs John Warham and John Maverick, with many godly fam- ilies from Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire, together with Edward Rossiter and Roger Clap, who was afterward captain of the " Castle," in Boston Harbor, became separated from the fleet during the voyage, and was the first to arrive. They had some difficulty with Captain Squib, who, "like a merciless man" (but he could hardly have been expected to do different, as the harbor was but little known, and he would have been in danger of losing his ship had he done as they desired), put them ashore on Nantasket Point, now called Hull, notwithstanding they held that he was engaged to bring them to the Charles River ; yet he con- tended that they were then at the entrance of the river. This all took place before the 14th of June, on which day the ship "Ad- miral," of the New England fleet, arrived at Salem, in which Gov- ernor "Winthrop and Mr. Isaac Johnson came as passengers. 14 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Governor Winthrop, after his arrival at Salem, determined to re- move to a point of land, since called Charlestown, in honor of Charles I., and with his followers took up his abode there, and dwelt in the ' ' Great House," which was built the year before by Mr. Thomas Graves, while the "multitude" set up cottages, tents, and booths. From the length of their passage over the Atlantic, many arrived sick with scurvy, which greatly increased afterward through the want of proper houses to live and sleep in. Other distempers also pre- vailed ; and, although the people were very loving and kind to each other, yet so many were afflicted that those few who remained well were unable to attend them and many died in consequence. Fewer dismal days did the first settlers experience than those they passed at Charlestown. In almost every family lamentation was heard, fresh food could not be obtained, and that which added to their dis- tress was the want of fresh water ; for although the place afforded THE TRAMOUNT OR BHAWMDT. plenty, yet for the present they could find but one spring, and that could not be reached except when the tide was down : this want of water was their principal cause of removal to Shawmut, now Bos- ton ; for notwithstanding the resolution of the principal men to build their town at Charlestown, the discouragement attendant on sickness and death caused many to be restless, and to think of other locations ; in the mean time Mr. William Blackstone, who lived at Shawmut (which signifies, in the Indian language, " living water," on account of the springs found there, and called by the new- comers Tramount, or Trimount, from its appearance from Charles- town of three large hills), learned of their distress, and, going over to their relief, advised them to remove to this peninsula. His advice was kindly received, and followed soon after. Thus Boston became settled by the English Puritans. ANNIE POLLARD AT THE AGE OF 103 YRS. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 17 THE FIRST SETTLER OF BOSTON. Was Mr. Blackstono. This was acknowledged during the life- time of the Governor, as shown in the records of Charlestown in BLACKSTONE S HOUSE. these words : " Mr. Blackstone, dwelling on the other side of Charles River alone, at a place called by the Indians, Shawmut, where he had a cottage at, or not far from, the place called Black- stone Point (supposed to he the southwest slope of Beacon Hill, near the corner of Beacon and Charles sts.), came and acquainted the Governor of an excellent spring, inviting and soliciting him thither. Whereupon, after the death of Mr. Johnson and divers others, the Governor and Mr. Wilson, and the greatest part of the church, removed thither ; whither also the frame of the Governor's house was carried, when the people began to build their houses against winter, and this place was called Boston, which was named after Boston in Lincolnshire, England, from which place some of the settlers came from." Blackstone's house, or cottage, in which he hived, together with the nature of his improvements, was such as to authorize the belief that he had resided there some seven or eight years. He was a retired Episcopal clergyman, and was one of those who preferred solitude to society, and his theological ideas corresponded with those habits of life. How he became pos- sessed of his lands here is not known ; but it is certain he held a 18 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. good title to them, which was acknowledged by the settlers under Winthrop, who, in the course of time, bought his lands of him, and he removed out of the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. When he invited Winthrop to come over to his side of the river, he prob- ably had no thought of removal himself, as it was some four years later when he changed his location. His selling out and leaving Boston was no doubt occasioned by his desire to live more retired, as well as a dislike to his Puritan neighbors. He said he " left England because of his dislike of the Lord Bishops, and now he did not like the Lord Brethren." One of the new-comers writes about him as follows : ' ' There were also some Godly Episcopa- lians, among whom may be reckoned Mr. Blackstone, who, by happening to sleep first in an old hovel, upon a point of land there, laid claim to all the ground whereupon there now stands the whole metropolis of English America, until the inhabitants gave him satisfaction." Blackstone retreated to that beautiful valley through which flows the Blackstone River, named in honor of him. Upon Blackstone's advice the Charlestown settlers acted, and removed to Shawmut. In the first boat-load that went over was Anne Pollard, who lived to be one hundred and five years old, and whose portrait we give, which was copied by the Photo- Electrotype process, from a painting in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, that was painted when she was one hundred and three years old. As the boat drew up towards the shore, she (being then a romping girl) declared she would be the first woman to land, and, before anyone, jumped from the bow of the boat on to the beach. According to this statement, which is based on good authority, Anne Pollard was the first white female that stood on the soil of Boston. Her deposition, at the age of eighty-nine, was used to substantiate the location of Blackstone's house. THE ABORIGINES The Indians living to the north visited the settlement quite fre- quently ; but no intercourse was had for some time with the Mass- achusetts, living to the southward, whose principal residence was on the Neponset River. At the head of these was a chief named Chickataubut. He had learned, probably, that Indians who visited GOVERNOR WINTHROP. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 21 the new people at Shawniut fared well, and he resolved to venture among them to see what benefit they would be to him. Accord- ingly he mustered up considerable men, who, with their wives, made their appearence at the dwelling of the Governor ; and, to satisfy him that they had not come out of idle curiosity, he pre- sented him with a hogshead of Indian corn. The Governor could not be outdone in generosity in so important a state affair ; and, therefore, he provided a dinner for the whole company. The Governor allowed Chickataubut to dine with him at his own table, whore he behaved himself as soberly as an Englishman. The INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE INDIANS AND GOV. WINTHRO?. next day after dawn they returned home ; the Governor giving him some cheese and peas, and a mug, and several other small things. EAULY APPEAEAXCE OF BOSTON. Winthrop's company found Boston sparsely wooded ; water, however, was abundant and good. In addition to the springs near Blackstone's house, mention is made in the first records of a "great spring" in Spring Lane, as well as other springs on the neck and elsewhere. The first settlers located chiefly within the limits between what are now Hanover, Tremont, Bromfield, and Milk Streets. Pem- berton Hill was also a favorite place of residence. The first 22 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. buildings were rude and unsightly. They were of wood, with roofs thatched, while the chimneys were built of pieces of wood placed crosswise, and covered with clay. Economy in building was carried so far that Governor Winthrop reproved his deputy, in 1632, for nailing clapboards upon his house, saying "that he did not well to bestow so much cost about the wainscotinsr, and adorning his house in the beginning of a plantation, both in regard of the public charges and for example." The first General Court was held in Boston, in 1630. John Winthrop was elected Governor, and Thomas Dudley, Deputy Governor. Our portrait of Governor Winthrop was copied from the painting in the possession of the Mass. Historical Society. The government of the town was in the hands of nine select- men. In 1632, Boston was declared by the colonial legislature to be "the fittest place for public meetings of any place in the Bay," and it has remained the capital of Massachusetts ever since. WINTHROP S GRAVE. Governor Winthrop died March 26, 1649. He was called the father of Boston, and no death has happened in it since its settle- ment which caused so deep a sensation among its inhabitants. He was interred in King's Chapel burying ground, on the northerly side of it, directly beneath the windows of the Mass. Historical Society, from whence our view of his tomb was taken. X a O < w o o a o m H O Z r \ — i z o O z in X W w z o r > z ! "'"'■■-IlllfillSii! lis ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 27 BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND. The original name of Boston is supposed to be derived from an old British saint of the name of Botolph, who lived about A. D. 650. The name is obtained from the Saxon boat and ulph, help, because. Botolph was the tutelar saint of mariners. For a long series of ages but little is known of English Boston. For nearly a thousand years succeeding its foundation, few of the vicissitudes attending it through that dark period have been recorded. Indeed , its history had hardly been attempted until its daughter on this side of the Atlantic had, in most respects, far outgrown her mother city. Two hundred and fifty years ago, at the time the fathers of New England left there, it was, and long had been, a famous and flourishing town, built on both sides of the river Witham, whioh is here enclosed on both sides with artifical banks, over which was a high wooden bridge, which has since been superseded with an iron one which cost £22,000. At a far remote period, it had be- come a great mart for wool, " which very much enriched and in- vited thither the merchants of the Hanse towns, who fixed their Guild there." In 1719, the inhabitants were chiefly merchants and graziers. At this date, it had a commodious and well frequented haven, admitting ships of two hundred and fifty tons up to the town, while, only thirty years later, even a small sloop of but forty tons, drawing but six feet of water, could get up only at spring tides. This was caused by the river being choked up with silt. Not long after, however, its usual navigation was restored by cutting a new channel from the town to Dogdike, an extent of twelve miles. To an inhabitant of Boston in New England it may appear scarcely credible for places elsewhere to remain nearly the same for a hundred years together, yet such was the case with the mother of Boston, judging from the following facts : — The parish register of Old Boston shows that in 1614 there were thirty mar- riages, eighty-four baptisms, and eighty-three burials ; while in 1714, just one hundred years later, there were thirty-one mar- riages, ninety-nine baptisms, and one hundred and thirty-one deaths. There was a return of the population in 1768, 3,470 ; in 1801, 5,926 ; in 1811, 8,113 ; in 1831, 11,240 ; in 1841, 34,680. St. Botolph's church, which is one of the prominent objects in the engraving and one of the most famous and interesting objects of ancient Boston, rendered doubly famous here for its having been 28 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. the church of which Mr. John Cotton was vicar twenty-one years, and from which he was obliged to fly to New England. This church was described one hundred and sixty-three years ago as " beautiful and large, the tower of which is so very high as to be the wonder of travelers, and the guide for mariners at a great dis- tance. It is looked upon as the finest in England and is 280 feet high, or better, and was begun to be built at midsummer, 1309, Dame Margaret Tilney laying the first stone. The length of the church is equal to the height of the steeple, ninety-four yards. There are 365 steps, fifty windows and twelve pillars which are designed to parallel the days, weeks and months of the year." Its. handsome tower was built after the model of that of the great church at Anthwerp. At the summit of this tower is a beautiful lantern, for a guide to seamen, which can be seen forty miles. It is a figurative saying of some of the pilgrims who settled this Bos- ton, that the lamp in the lantern of St. Botolph's ceased to burn when Cotton left that church to become a shining light in the wil- derness of New England. St. Botolph's has no galleries, yet it will contain five thousand persons, as estimated at the obsequies of the late Princess Charlotte. The nave is lofty and grand ; the ceiling, representing a stone vaulting, is said to be of Irish oak. It consists of fourteen groined arches, with light spandrils, which, by their elegant curves, inter- sections and embowments, produce a beautiful effect. The upper part of the nave is lighted by twenty-eight clerstory windows, be- tween the springs of the arches. The chancel, which is spacious and lofty, has on each side ranges of stalls, the seats of which are ornamented with grotesque carvings ; over these, formerly, were canopies, highly embelished with foliage and fret-work. The altar is of oak, in the Corinthian order. Such was the splendid and magnificient church of St. Botolph's, in which many of the fathers of " New England Boston" had been wont to worship, and which they had looked upon with pious reverence, and which they justly remembered as one of the chief glories of their native land. But at the period of their emigration, a great change had com- menced. They began to consider extravagance in architecture and dress as very wicked, and disapproved of by the God they intended to honor by such extravagance. »— i pd w M H w W O GO -3 O o w o o d i'TlM^r =^ ^ * \S> X -•> ■■- >fe. 56' ■Tv ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 31 FIRST ENTRY IN THE RECORDS OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON. Our local historians very generally agree that there are several pages missing from the first book of the Records of Boston, and what there is left of it, begins Sept. 1, 1634 ; the first entry being herewith faithfully reproduced by the Photo Electrotype Engrav- ing process. The first entries are in the autograph of Governor Winthrop and were written in blue :"nk, which is still bright. It is thought that the missing pages were occupied chiefly in the allotments and distributions of lands, and it is probable that a list of the residents were there given, but this is simply speculation. What now remains seems to be an entire book of 161 pages, written on fools- cap paper. The paging and indexing was a comparatively modern labor, and from the pages running regularly through the book (from 1 to 161) it appears to be complete. The first entry begins at the top of the page and in these words : " Whereas, it has been founde that muche damage hath alreadye happnd by laynge of stones and loges neere the bridge and land- inge place, whereby diverst boats have been much bruised ; for prvention of such harmes for tyme to come, it is ordered that whosoever shall unlade any stones, lumber or logges, where the same may be plainely seene at high water, shall set vp a pole or beacon thereof, upon pain that whosoever shall fail so to doe shall make full recompense for all such damage as shall happen, being only declarative of ye com. lawe herein." The following names, occupying the left hand margin of the record, are presumed to have been those of the select men present : John Winthrop, William Coddington, Captain John Underbill, Thomas Oliver, Thomas Leverett, Giles Firmin, John Coggeshall, William Pierce, Robert Hardinge and William Brenton. One name crossed out is presumed to be that of Edmund Quinsey. There is one name in the MS. not entirely written out. This was crossed out apparently at the time it was written, and is pre- sumed to have been that of " Edmund Quinsey," who was at that time an inhabitant of Boston and had been admitted a freeman 4th March, 1634. This person, whoever he was, may have been appointed one of the Town Officers, but had not accepted the office, or otherwise, was prevented from being present. 32 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. The Record proceeds: — "It is also ordered, that no person shall leave any fish or garbage neare the said bridge or common landing-place, between the creeks, whereby any annoyance may come to the people that passe that way, vpon payne to forfeit for every such offence five shillings, the same to be levied by distress of the goodes of the offender. SMITHS MAP. As stated in the first part of this work, Captain John Smith made the first authentic discovery of Boston Harbor. On his re- turn to England he published a map which clearly shows a bay with eight islands in it, into which flowed a river which he called "Charles River." He afterwards made use of later explorers' re- ports and added them to his map. This map, being the real foun- dation of our New England cartography, deserves particular at- tention. Smith showed his map to Prince Chai-les, then a lad of fifteen, and desired him to give names to the different points, bays, rivers, hills and other physical features. Of the names which the Prince assigned, but three became permantly attached to the lo- calities, and these are Plimouth, Cape Anna, and the river Charles. Boston has been changed to York, Me., and Smith's Isles to Isles of Shoals, London to Hingham, Oxford to Marshfield, Poynt Suttliff to Brant Rock, Poynt George to Gurnet. New England, as the general designation of the country, has been suffered to re- main. Ten or more editions of this map were published in which there were many distinctive features. Our reproduction is a por- tion of the map published in "Mercator's Atlas," 1635, four years after Smith's death. Although the old date, 1614, is still kept on the plate, yet the following words which appear on the map show that it followed "Wood's Prospects of 1634 : "He that desyres to know more of the Estate of new England lett him read a new Book of the prospecte of new England & there he shall have Satisfaction." On this last edition appear the names of Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, and many other distinctive features that do not appear on the first ; as, for instance, there are eighteen islands in the harbor instead of eight, as in the first edition. These changes were made through the reports of later visitors, such as Wood and others. Simon, Jptufc-ut Jau.[sLsi£ J L i 1 I Pf*T of Smith's Map of New England. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON'. 35 wood's map. This map, which appeared in Wood's New England Prospects, with the title, "The South part of New England as it is Planted this yeare, 1634," is the oldest map known giving any detail of the geography of the vicinity of Boston. We herewith give a fac-simile of the map. Nothing is known of Wood, except that in August, 1633, he left this country, where he says "he had lived these four years, and that the end of his travel was observation, and that he intended to return shortly." Wood, in his descrip- tion, says "Boston is two miles northeast from Roxberry. His situation is very pleasant, being a peninsula hemmed in on the south side with the bay of Roxberry, on the north side with Charles River, the marshes on the back side being not a half a quarter of a mile over ; so that a little fencing will secure their cattle from the wolves. Their greatest wants be wood and meadow-ground, which never were in that place, being constrained to fetch their building timber and firewood from the islands in boats and their hay in lighters. It being a neck, and bare of wood, they are not troubled with three great annoyances, of wolves, rattlesnakes, and mosquitoes. These that live here upon their cattle, must be constrained to take farms in the country, or else they cannot subsist ; the place being too small to contain many, and fittest for such as can trade into England for such commodi- ties as the country wants, being the chief place for shipping and merchandise. This neck of land is not above four miles in com- pass ; in form almost square, having on the south side, at one corner, a great broad hill, whereon is planted a fort, which can command any ship as she sails into any harbour within the still bay. On the north side is another hill, equal in bigness, whereon stands a windmill. To the northwest is a high mountain with three little rising hills on the top of it ; wherefore it is called the Tramount. From the top of this mountain a person may over- look all the islands which lie before the bay, and descry such ships as are upon the sea-coast. This town although it be neither the greatest nor the richest, yet it is the most noted and frequented, being the centre of the plantations, where the monthly courts are kept. Here likewise dwells the Governor. This place hath very good land, aflbrding rich cornfields and fruitful gardens ; having likewise sweet and pleasant springs." 36 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. lamb's map of boston according to the book or POSSESSIONS. By order of the General Court, on April 1, 1634, it was ordered that a survey of the houses and lands of every inhabitant in every town should be made, and a transcript sent to the court within six ' months. It is possible that the Book of Possessions was compiled according to this order, for on a slip of paper in the library of the Mass. Hist. Society is the following testimony of Isa Addington : "These may Certify whom it may Concern, That when I came first into the office of Clerk of the Court of Suffolk in the year 1672 I there found a Book Entitled on the Cover Possessions of the Inhabitants of Boston, which I many times lookt into and extracted several things out of it at the desire of particular per- sons, but alwaies was in doubt of the validity of it as a Record. And it remained in the office at the time when I was dismissed Isa Addington." Succeeding generations, however, have placed a higher value on this book, and it is now recognized as the foundation of the title of most of the real estate of the old portion of the city. The volume itself, now in the custody of the city clerk, was evidently prepared on a plan of giving a half page to each person, and of entering under his name a list of his lands. The city of Boston has made a transcript of this work and published it for free distri- bution. Mr. Geoi'ge Lamb has recently made a map of the loca- tion of the lots of the owners mentioned in the Book of Possessions, undertaking to mark thereon the outlines of the several estates, with the names of the owners of the lots. The size of the map is 9 ft. 4 in. by 5 ft. 4 in., and is divided into nine sections. This map was purchased by the Trustees of the Public Library, and copies distributed to conveyancers and antiquarians for corrections and additions. Much yet remains to be done, and it will be the work of years of research before its correctness will be attainable, even if at all. In our reduced form of Lamb's map, it is impos- sible to give the names of the owners of the lots as Lamb has done, or to give his boundary lines, which are purely imaginary. The lots are accordingly indicated by numbers in each section of the map, and by comparing the number with the text the name of the owner of each lot may be ascertained. Woof's Map of New England, 1634. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 39 1. "William Colborn 2. Edward Belcher 3. William Talmag< 4. Thomas Snow 9, 10, c. Cotton Flack Jacob Eliot William Talmage 16 Robert Walker 13, 14. Wm. Salter 15. Rich'd Croychley Richard Parker 17. Mr. Roe 5. Robert Walker 11. John Cramwell 18. William Colborn 6. William Briscoe 12. Ralph Roote 1. John CogaD 10. 3. James Pen 11. 4. Robert Turner 12. 5. Thomas Millard 13. 6. Richard Truesdale 14. 7. Nathaniel Eaton 15. 8. Zaccheus Bos worth 16. 9. Jane Parker 17. 18. Nat. Chappell etal 19. Richard Pepys 20. Thomas Millard 21. William Wilson 22. Richard Parker 23. John Ruggles 24. Edmund Dennis 25. Zacch's Bosworth a. Richard Sherman b. Wm. Beamsley Robert Wing Francis Lyle James Johnson Thomas Clarke Thomas Buttolph Richard Cooke John Biggs Valentine Hill A. John Cogan 15. B. Burying-ground 16. 1. Thomas Scottow 17. C. Rich'd Hutchinson 18. 2. Gov'r Winthrop 19. 3. Atherton Hough 20. 4. Robert Reynolds 21. 5. John Stevenson 22. 6. Nathaniel Bishop 23. 7. Nicholas Parker 24. 8. James Penn 25. 9. John Kendrick 26. 10. William Dinsdale 27. 11. Robert Rice 28. 12. William Pell 29. 13. John Spoore 30. 14. Rich'd Fairbanks 31. Richard Gridley 32. Wm. Davies, Sr. 33. John Harrison 34. Richard Gridley 35. Nicholas Baxter 36. Edward Brown 37. Matthew Iyons 38. Wm. Leatherland39. William Teft 40. Thomas Munt 41. Jonathan Negoos 42. Thomas Foster 43. Richard Tuttle 44. Benjamin Gillam 45. Robert Turner 46. William Deming 47. Capt. Rob't Keayne48. Robert Scott Mauditt Engles Benjamin Negoos Gamaliel Waite Thomas Oliver Robert Scott John Palmer, Sr Amos Richardson Wm. Hudson, Sr George Griggs Wm. Blantaine Thomas Bell Richard Hollick Gamaliel Waite Rich'd Woodhouse John Viall The Pond . 40 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 49. Edw'd Fletcher 70. 50. Richard Waite 71. 51. Charity White 72. 52. Francis East 73. 53. Nathaniel Eaton 74. 54. Richard Hogg 75. 55. John Marshall 76. 56. Nath'l Woodward 77. 57. John Palmer, Jr 78. 58. Elizabeth Purton 79. 59. Job Judkins 80. 60. Robert Hull 81. 61. John Hurd 82. 62. Wm. Blantaine 83. 63. Thomas Wheeler 84. 64. Atherton Hough 85. 65.. Francis Lyle 86. 66. Thomas Millard 87. 67. Thomas Grubb 88. 68. Wm. Aspinwall 89. 69. Ephraim Pope 90. Edmund Dennis Edmund Jacklin Wm. Townsend Jane Parker Richard Sherman Daniel Mand Richard Cooke Rich'd Fairbanks Zach. Bosworth John Synderland Richard Cooke John Lugs: Arthur Perry Robert Blott Mr. Flint Anthony Harker Mr. Flint Thomas Clarke Ralph Mason Robert Wing Henry Webb 91. George Burden 92. James Johnson 93. John Leverett 94. Wm. Chamberlain 95. Richard Carter 96. Jacob Leger 97. Rob't Woodward 98. Jacob Leger 99. Thomas Fowle 100. Walter Sinet 101. John Odlin 102. Cole 103. Griffith Bowen 104. Garrett Bourne 105. Edwd. Rainsford 106. David Offley 107. Owen Rowe 108. John Pelton 109. The Marsh d. Wm. Colborne 1. Sampson Shore 2. John Hill 18. 3. David Sellick 19. 4. John Mylom 20. 5. Wm. Werdall 21. 6. Valentine Hill 22. 7. John Oliver 23. 8. John Knight 24. 9. John Pierce 25. 10. Thomas Marshall 26. 11. The Bridge 27. 12. Thomas Hawkins 28. 13. John Button 29. 14. John Davies 30. 15. Gabriel Fish 31. 16. Valentine Hill 32. 33. John Lowe 34. Rich'd Bellingham35. Henry Symons 36. John Hill 37. James Everill 38. Edmund Dennis 39. John Button 40. Nicholas Willis 41. Thomas Painter 42. George Barrell 43. Thos. Makepeace 44. Anne Hunne 45. George Bates 46. George Burden 47. Francis Dowse 48. Jeremy Houchin Sarah Knight Samuel Greames Wm. Hudson, Jr John Glover George Burden Hugh Gunnison Capt. Wm. Tyng Rich'd Bellingham Chris'r Stanley Thomas Buttolph Valentine Hill Henry Dunster Thomas Hawkins John Biggs James Brown Lamb's Map 6 o ston J}oo/cgf/*ossess/o/?s . ¥ ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 43 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56.. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. Alexander Beck 71. Joshua Scottow 72. Benj. Thwing 73. Wm. Wilson 74. Dinely heirs 75. Eichard Tapping 76. Prison lot 77. Eichard Parker 78. John Leverett 79. Eich'd Truesdale 80. Valentine Hill 81. Meeting House 82. Gen. Sedgwick 83. Ed. Hutchinson 84. Henry Messenger 85. Market Place 86. Wm. Hudson Sr. 87. Wm. Davies Sr. 88. John Winthrop 89. Elder Leverett 90. Eobert Scott 91. Eobert Scott 92. Henry Webb 93. Valentine Hill William Parsons 94. Isaac Grosse James Davies 95. Edward Bendall John Spoore 96. George Foxcroft William Hibbens 97. Eobert Nash Eichard Sherman 98. Wm. Franklin The Spring Gate 99. Maj. Gibbons Deacon Oliver 100. William Corser /. Val. Hill's bridge g. Bend on Battery- march Street 101. Nat'l Woodward 102. Ed. Hutchinson 103. Benjamin Ward Eev. John Wilsonl04. Benjamin Gillom Anth'y Stoddard 105. John Compton 106. The Fort 107. Wm. Hibbins Eich'd Fairbanks William Corser Maj. Keayne Mary Hudson Henry Webb John Cogan Valentine Hill Wm. Davies Jr. William Pierce David Sellick James Oliver Edward Tyng [There are no own- ers assigned to G. 17 on Lamb's map.] H. 1. James Johnson 15. 2. John Smith 16. 3. Maj. Edw. Gibbonsl7. 4. Eobert Nash 18. 5. Henry Pease 19. 6. John Leverett et al 20. 7. Nathaniel Chappel 21. 8. John Cole 22. 9. John Mellows 23. 10. Edmund Jackson 24. 11. Jeremy Houtchin 25. 12. Edward Bendall 26. 13. Eev. John Cotton27. 14. Daniel Maud 28. Eich'd Bellingham29. Valentine Hill 30. Eobert Meeres 31. Eobert Howen 32. Anne Hunne 33. Henry Fane 34. John Newgate 35. Jeremy Houtchin 36. Mr. Stoughton 37. James Johnson 38. Thomas Hawkins 39. William Kirkby 40. James Hawkins 41. Eichard Parker 42. Eichard Sanford Eobert Meers Henry Pease Alexander Beck George Burden David Sellick Edmund Jackson Eobert Meers Eobert Turner William Davies John Biggs James Pen John Mellowes Eich'd Fairbanks* 44 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 43. Henry Pease 44. Thomas Oliver 45. Richard Carter 46. James Brown 47. Alexander Beck 48. Isaac Addington 49. Thomas Clarke 50. Edward Gibbons 51. Thomas Munt 1. Chris'r Stanley 2. Thos. Buttolph 3. William Copp 4. John Button 5. John Shaw 6. Windmill lot 7. Valentine Hill 8. Nicholas Parker 00. Chris'r Stanley 9. 0. Nicholas Parker 10. 1. Thomas Buttolph 11. 2. Edward Goodwin 12. 3. John Sweet 4. Isaac Grosse 5. John Seabury 6. Walter Merry 7. Isaac Grosse 8. Wm. Beasley 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. K. Anne Tuttle 19. Nehemiah Bourne 20. Capt. Hawkins 21. Edward Bendall 22. Thomas Savage 23. Edmund Grosse 24. Samuel Cole 25. Isaac Cullimer 26. Thomas Joy 27. Richard Rawlins Thomas Clarke Thomas Joy Isaac Cullimer Bart. Passmore Francis Hudson John Gallop Matthew Chaffie Wm. Hudson Sr. Thomas Meekins TOWN Boston iartons Point Wfok .'■ ^fi P owderHo -& Watch Houfe COMMOF School E^t P I £. C=>, -Kill !? .tfif •^ ©- OiunuU J^ ) r^iii I/ot/^h^" -A ess 4 -.. - .1 Scaleof * a Mile. Hilh C B0ST0JS:N.E Explanation ! L fl/Wlted An.Dom.)^o KF/ee Old Church..., '^J E.<2A of 'England .....1 68S JLfiT,ttth St Ouirch l ^S9 Q^u,aJc/>7D. , 1710 VLWUtvllvrth ._....,. l j a- I 'UnvJouth. tjt ef KFrench _ ... ljiff VTUwWBnd:. , 7 i, a-.ToTU-evHouXe ^djowmounlfoidt. c. South Ijrariia/rSchool . a. . Tlorih (/ramajrScJwel . e .'Jl/'ritifia Scho ol . f .TUritirujSchool . g . CUrm Jloiifc . \1.JBr1dennU . StrttU 42jjvneA j6(UleaM -HouJea near 3000. iooo3rick rzftTvmber \7lear 12 000 people, . Great Fires. Firft ifftf Second. 1 6-] 6 Thvrd '^70 Fourth, 168$ Fifth. i6go Sixth. i6qi Seventh tjo 2 Fiath, fjn WindJvftlPoint V 11 tren Small Pox. Firjt. 1640 Second 1660 Thinl.....\!i?l Fourth \ 6 S *° Fifflv / jos SicUk x 7 9 1 RoTirtons "Yard . • S Battery. "A* ■3 JEnarov-tyn amd Frinted Jrjj Fra. 1) esnd/iw . J3oftoii NE.17 2 2 Jp^ by Cap 1 . John Jjtmn&r Ond (Vvll^Pricc apant/h it TimmJIo-i^e ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 47 THE BONNER MAP. This map was drawn by Captain John Bonner, and engraved and printed by Francis Dewing in 1722, and is the oldest map of Boston in existance, showing the streets and prominent places. The original from which this was copied is preserved in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The size of the plate was about 2 feet by 17 J inches, and was afterwards published by William Price, with additions and emendations, in 1733, 1743 and 1769, and possibly in other years, as the date of the map was sometimes put upon it with writing-ink. This map was the basis of all other plans of the town for many years. William Price, who was interested in the sale of the map, had a shop " against ye Town House." He died in 1772, aged 87. There is a tablet to his memory in King Chapel burying ground. List of the names of the prominent Places and Streets of Boston as shown on the Bonner Map of 1722, and their present names and location in 1882. NAMES ON BONNER MAP, 1722. PRESENT NAME, 1SS2. LOCATION. Ann Street, North, Back Street, Salem, Barton's Point, formerly Blackstone's, Battery Alley, Batterymarch St., Beacon Street, Beech Street, Beer Lane, Belcher's Lane, Bell Alley, Bennett Street, Bishop's Alley, Blind Lane, Bowling Green, Brattle Street, Cambridge Street, Charter Street, Church Square, Clark's Square, Cold Lane, Union to Cross. Blackstone to Prince. Foot of Leverett Street. Hanover to Commercial. Milk to Oliver. Tremont to State House. Washington to Harrison Av Hanover to Salem. Summer to Oliver. Hanover to North Square. Salem to Hanover. Summer to Milk. Summer to Kingston. Space between Cambridge, Pitts, Sudbury and Merrimac Streets. Franklin Ave. and Brattle Squ. and St. (east) Sudbury to Anderson. Hanover to Commercial. Rear of Joy (now Rogers) Battery Street, Broad & Purchase, Beacon, Beach, Parmenter Street, Purchase Street, Prince Street, No. Bennett St., Hawley Street, Bedford Street, Cambridge and part of Court. Charter, Cornhill Court, North Square. Portland Street, Building. Sudbury to Haymarket Sq. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Common Street, Cooper's Alley, Cornhill, Corn Market, Cow Lane, Crab Lane, Crooked Alley, Crooked Lane, Cross Street, Davies Lane, Dock Square, Essex Street, Flounder Lane, Ferry Way, Fish Street, Fleet Street, Frog Lane, Gallop's Alley, Garden Court, Gibbs' Lane, Gray's Lane, Girdley Lane, Hanover Street, Half Square Court, Hillers' Lane, Hogg Alley,_ Hudson's Point, Hull Street, King Street, Leverett's Lane, Long Lane, Love Lane, Lynn Street, Mackerel Lane, Marlborough St., Merchant's Row, Middle Street, Milk Street, Mill Creek, Moon Street, Tremont, Kilby Street, Washington St., High Street, Batterymarch St., Federal St., Devonshire St., Cross, Beacon St., Dock Square, Essex, Atlantic Avenue, Commercial St., North, Fleet, Boylston Street, Board Street, Garden Court St. , Oliver Street, Congress Street, Girdley Street, Hanover, Congress Square, Brattle Street, Avery Street, Gas Co.'s Wharf, Hull, State, Congress Street, Federal Street, Tileston Street, Commercial, Kilby Street, Washington, Merchant's Row, Hanover, Milk, Blackstone St., Moon, School to Boylston. Milk to Water. School to Dock Square. South side of Ftineuil Hall. Summer St. to Fort Hill Sq Liberty Sq. to Broad St. High to Purchase. State to Dock Square. North to Endicott. State House to Walnut St. Place around Town Dock. Washington to South. Summer to Congress Sts. Prince to Charter. Cross to Fleet. Hanover to North. Washington to Charles. Hanover to North. Fleet to North. High to Purchase. High to Purchase. High to Purchase. Court to Blackstone. State to Devonshire St. Court to Brattle Square. Washington to Tremont. Foot of Charter Street. Snowhill to Salem. Washington to Long Wharf State to Water. High to Milk. North to Salem. Charter to Battery. State to Milk. Summer to School. State St. to Faneuil Hall Sq Blackstone to Bennett. Washington to Broad. North St. to Haymarket S< | . North to Fleet. JUSTTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 49 JNewbery Street, North Battery, Old Way, Oliver Street, Orange Street, Pierce's Alley, Pond Street, Prince Street, Pudding Lane, Queen Street, Rainsford Lane, Salem Street, Salutation Alley, School Street, Sea Street, Ship Street, Short Street, Shrimpton Street, Sliding Alley, Snow Hill Street, South Street, South Battery, Spring Lane, Sudbury Street, Washington, Battery Wharf, Path from Cross Oliver, Washington, Change Avenue, Bedford, Prince, Devonshire St., Court, Harrison Ave., Salem, Salutation St., School, Federal, Commercial, Kingston, Exchange, Foster Street, Snowhill, South, Rowe's Wharf, Spring Lane, Sudbury, Summer Street, Summer, Sun Court, Sun Court St., Tanner's Lane, Congress St., Tilley's Lane, (closed up,) Treamount Street. Tremont, Turnagain Alley, Union Street, Water Street, West Street, White Bread Alley, Harris Street, Winter Street, Winter, Wood Lane, Richmond St., Wind Mill Point, Temple Place, Union, Water, West, Beach to Summer. E. Boston to North Ferry, to Snowhill St., now closed. Milk St. to Fort Hill Sq. Essex to Dover. State St. toFaneuil Hall Sq. Washington to Kingston. Hanover to Commercial. State to Water. Washington to Hanover. Essex St. to Beach. Prince to Charter. Hanover to Commercial. Washington to Tremont. Summer to East. Fleet to Battery Wharf. Bedford to Essex. State St., to Dock Sq. Charter to Commercial. Prince to Charter. Summer to East. Foot of Broad Street. Washington to Devonshire. Hanover St. to Haymarket Square. Washington to Federal. Fleet to North. Water to Milk. Purchase to High. Beacon to Hanover. West half to Tremont. DockSq. to Haymarket Sq. Washington to Congress. Washington to Tremont. Hanover to North. Washington to Tremont. Hanover to Commercial. Cor. East and Federal Sts. 50 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE MASSACHUSETTS CHARTER. "We herewith give a reproduction of the charter as at present displayed on the walls of the Secretary's Office at the State House. It is on rollers, and in our engraving is greatly reduced in size. The Royal Charter guaranteed to the Massachusetts Company, their heirs and assigns, a certain parcel of land in Massachusetts Bay in New England, extending from three miles south of Charles river to three miles north of the Merrimac river, and in breadth from the Atlantic to the South Seas. It also gave the company power to make laws and elect officers for disposing and ordering the general business of the plantation and the government of the people. These were extraordinai*y privileges for those times, and made the colonists very independent. They were subjects to the crown in name, but were in reality masters of their own public affairs, and the government of the colony was but little different from that of the State to-day. Under the Charter they were pro- hibited from making laws that should be repugnant to the laws of England. It was reported in England that the power of govern- ment contained in the Charter was abused. Commissioners were sent to Massachusetts to investigate matters. They reported that Quakers, Episcopalians and Baptists were persecuted ; that the laws of England regulating trade were entirely disregarded, and that no laws were of force in Massachusetts until confirmed by the Colonial Legislature ; that the lives of the Commissioners were in danger, — that they were insulted and obliged to leave the country in disgrace. A writ of Quo Warranto was issued, and thus ended the first Charter of Massachusetts, Oct. 23, 1684. The powers of government contained in this instrument have been differently interpreted, and the primary cause of the dissen- tions between England and her American colonies, during the whole period of the existance of those relations, was the debata- ble ground between her imperial and their municipal rights. Alternate inroads on either side were kept up, which naturally ended by bringing into collision the forces of each people, and involving them at length in an implacable war, which commenced at Lexington and ended at Yorktown. A duplicate of this Charter was sent over, in 1629, to Governor Endicott at Salem, and is now in the Salem AthenEeum. ;U«te^*>.v»«WOi.T.iiiV.>tc>aarO|H.it*cii.*\<;irc» c< t vrtnvUc C-A.'u^i wf.-tc nv'LMu'' IILiriVW GrataC LiwiClRi .'Vdttci.itrlfSd.Mi ^.«.«»? mir trior r.tutwo jb.' ht.in.'inw.'i-,! IP. fnht OUT ML-ffUUCC M.VU tt-JLni^Gf dni>jw tt .a^tiT ^A-Hr/uk-CVt-MvCVivcnwv.Mtiivci* in >:'.ii.,,i of' o:.i nW^>ii^u(v'riirii3c'(ivintVDie'tf tvBu*totnn.-tci.*.MttWl -ivreot .'*tvath*l l oiVi*i|li|liHt U\V .\vl ; T(Pfii>vt.l5»"> (ftWliilTvvmnitBO.iuaiutilW n* pUV aaon^unmitcr ilVo.ljj'iMHX.* .in? tucn,-; moron lot v^our p.-ii.-i} .11.0 llMmtifonJ juro an." 1 jRiiimir tott** An? 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'MLs>*M-'.»n>L-'t';,-im.>«onv.niI ot>«lYv (jsrlulT .i»o ("«.-' fri nff i.-mj^if ti riV^iutc.ti-li nuj l : :"—'.■ 4^*1 , U B QHIM HL... . a J 0>-tvm.i <»* Cn»f«ii» fvcalv't -tdwofnioS-uPuit otto* 11 «c- .1 £•, --' — mjoto 1V.1U mjti-.-jva fulfdiatinii u-.o-™ tun u *TnV -'o.'o i , ^P» .1 ^xti-Tu' Panna|] nuid t'i'umll'ii) tPfm nv.sti-J (HoVoilt l-1'oiu . » ot'tb.-ir' l*iocu«[».nro.TO .■ilKlteu* on? C*i>|ortcuv •Bull I* live HMibuWr«|M.Ail nPinK.-iNv'tfLvlrncDbVC'i.va avuu .XsilTvleuiulI lor iw«i tNn» MhCaM. UwVj.oOllciA-iiJati^CKiVi'f Itiew.tt™ iti.oi L" f» 1S.-W l-i-f-Bl f.-c lV.nitP.-XKiitn.'OaiiCl^-tli.-L.V.-u.-aut.iuviiu C"l »!>' am»nvtnIClK t'v.i.V .1 tt.|^»4 ev»f« irsu Coajl jf I "T.T.- !.' npLa.^ ia' Jlmrtitn I'-irj tT trntuij.- , aa»«lL'uS>(rt'iuI > 'C'i.it.;'.1*ll>4l>«tt r t n ii; rjii>y,fnll ™iia» 11V £r. _ ._ H-j»CaijI .9w»H 9nniC.i> .u-'.w.t auini^ii.. ip.k p\.nr.i»3 rt S:™p re ."OolK; nr.MuJ ^ tt'ot tonv^ ■•" _ . .4.*CVW1«.1,1=.'1.. mto l>» lA.no iixl'tai .1 «•»!•» vV.« "- ilT'^a.ii.Krpik' CjIWm.. orttvOJa-'-Ct-nptofTtruivtiuap tSf l r,s-.>C"vuA- cffiUFiM IINW i.Oni?«iui..T U .,.r,i»i n* a> 3-*.! .n ••ft.TW'. ^tar waff ™ n>&* it-'iiai n-ni.r« Jtcov iBBi.mfc"*-iu. : .i.-i5^n>i^i . »hl^ '.A'. * •-•^iMaNe St v.* -«i ;»iiiJ I>.' ■ii.-'^.-at-tV puu .*» r.iuair.i'tD, in... „-.-.--...; ,-pJl* lak. .:>*-:V-rtna(tj-*'.>.*-- -«..''-..:i'ttrB.o.-j .1— '10.A1 uiua «-* i^litiui^u -«"l-«^ 1 w^i-ii !•' .^.i-.'.-.-j-r^i iM.i t.'>i; •' Wi.> Fac-Similes of the First Massachusetts Charter. tH ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 53 THE HUTCHINSON HOUSE. The picture of the stately mansion here given is a correct rep- resentation of the Hutchinson House in the North Square. It was prominent as the house attacked by the mob in 1765, and was taken down fifty years ago — 1834. It served as the residence of the Hutchinson family, viz. Col. Thomas Hutchinson and his son Governor Hutchinson from the year 1711 to 1774, when the lat- ter left for England, where he died 1780 — The house was built by Col. John Foster, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, a gentleman who was born at Ayelsboro, in Buckinghamshire, Eng- land and came to Boston as early as 1675, where he became a rich merchant and resided on Charter Street, at the corner of what is now called Foster Street, formerly a lane leading from his house to his wharf on Commercial Street. He was very active in the Andros troubles, was a member of the Provincial Council and Judge of the Common Pleas Court, from 1693 to 1711. Hutch- inson says most of the public documents of that period were in his handwriting. Many of the principal citizens of the north part of the town became connected with his family in various ways and a slight account of his connections is requisite to understand the history of this house in question. Colonel Foster purchased of Richard Wharton in 1686 a piece of ground on the N. W. side of the North Square, where he erected the house here represented and where he resided until his death in 1711 — he died intestate, he married previous to 1677, his first wife being the daughter of Daniel Turell, a prominent landholder of that day, being the grantor to the town of Boston of the land ever since occupied as the Cemetry of Copps Hill. The second wife of Col. Foster was the daughter of Capt. John Hawkins, whom Gov. Winthrop men- tions as being lost on the coast of Spain, in a shipwreck in 1648. Capt. Hawkin's second daughter became the second wife of Col. Elisha Hutchinson, grandson of the celebrated Ann Hutchinson, and had no children. Col. Foster died intestate in 1711, and his large property was divided into three parts, $ to the widow, and $ to each of his daughters. Mrs. Foster died two months after her husband, leaving by will the bulk of her estate, including this house to her nephew Col. Thomas Hutchinson, the father of the Governor who occupied it, (the two father and son) occupying it more than sixty years. 54 ANTIQUE VIEW 8 OF BOSTON. Col. Thomas Hutchinson was a descendant of William Hutch- inson and his famous wife, "that woman of ready wit and bold spirit," more than a match for her reverend and magisterial in- quisitors. He was a wealthy merchant and councillor, who made his native town a sharer in his prosperity by founding the North End Grammar School. His son, the future governor, was born in this house, which, upon the death of his father in 1739, became his, and here he remained while in office, the only one of the pro- vincial Governors who did not inhabit the Province House, alleg- ing that he had a better house of his own, an assertion amply justified, if we can believe Lydia Maria Child's account of it, who describes the mansion in the ' ' Eebels " as follows : ' ' The house was of brick, painted a neutral tint, and was ornamented in front with four Corinthian pilasters. One of the capitals of these is now in the Mass. Historical Library. The Crown of Britian surmounted each window. The hall entrance displayed a spacious arch from the roof of which a dimly lighted lamp gave a rich twilight view. The finely carved and gilded arch in massive magnificence was most tastefully ornamented with busts and statues. The light streamed full on the soul-beaming; countenance of Cicero, and playfully flickered on the brow of Tulliola. The panelling of the parlor was of the dark, richly shaded mahogany of St. Domingo, and ornamented with the same elaborate skill as the hall just quitted. The busts of George III. and his youug queen were placed in front of a splendid mirror with bronze lamps on each side covered with beautiful transparencies, one rep- resenting the destruction of the Spanish Armada, the other giv- ing a fine view of a fleet of line of battle ships, drawn up before the Rock of Gibraltar. On either side of the room were arches surmounted with the arms of England. The library was hung with tapestry, representing the cornation of George II., inter- spersed with the royal arms. The portraits of Anne and the Georges, hung in massive frames of antique splendor, and the crowded shelves were surmounted with busts of the house of Stuart. In the centre of the apartment stood a table of polished oak. The garden of the old mansion extended back to Hanover and to Fleet streets. o X o •z X o c w ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 57 Here Lieut. -Governor Hutchinson surrounded himself with his books and works of art ; here he collected precious manuscripts and compiled his interesting History ; and here, on the night of the 26th of August, 1765, he was sought by an infuriated mob, and would have been assassinated but for his daughter's devotion. His house was sacked and his rich furniture of all lands destroyed, and his priceless manuscripts scattered to the winds. It is impos- sible to estimate the great loss this was to the history of the coun- try. A few years more of contention, and this courtly represen- tative of an ancient and honorable family, this sincere lover of his country, this patient student of her history, this skillful man of affairs, this persuasive speaker, this upright and merciful judge, once so beloved, unable to discern or unwilling to adopt the course of the revolutionists, hindered perhaps by his great possessions, preferring to remain on the side that represented law and author- ity, and so drew upon himself the wrath of his fellow townsmen, fled from his native country and died a broken-hearted exile, look- ing fondly back to bis birth-place in sunny Garden Court street. After Hutchinson's departure, the estate was confiscated, and like other confiscated property to which the title was not considered good, it was sold for a mere song to Mr. William Little, a re- spectable merchant, whose family remained there till its downfall. General John P. Boyd, a brother of Mrs. Little's, lived in this house for some years. He was a soldier of fortune who, eaidy in life, had served the native East India princes with a force raised by himself, and brought home his pay in the concrete form of a cargo of saltpetre, as tradition reported, and later in life distin- guished himself in the War of 1812, and was naval officer of Boston in 1830. This engraving was reproduced from the American Magazine for February, 1836. 58 ANTIQUE VIEW 8 OF BOSTON. THE FRANKLAND HOUSE. This House, formerly known as the Clark House, and, during the later years of its existence, as the Frankland House, from Sir Henry Frankland who was once its owner, was situated in North Square, on the corner of Garden Court and Prince street. The Clark-Frankland House was a monument of human pride. In all colonial Boston there was not its peer, and it was without doubt built to outvie that of Hutchinson, Clark's wealthy next-door neighbor, Fenimore Cooper, the novelest, visited the Frank- land House and examined it minutely before he wrote ' ' Lionel Lincoln," in which the house is described as the residence of Mrs. Lechmere and located on Tremont street. It was a well-proportioned house, built of brick, of three stories in height, looking down upon its two-storied neighbor, an inten- tional oversight, with a gambrel roof crowned by a balustrade. The front was relieved by a row of dormer windows, by a modil- lioned cornice, by string courses between each story, and by the richly carved pediment and pilasters of the door-way. Passing through the door, you entered a hall of hospitable width, running from front to rear, spanned by an arch midway. The front hall, lighted by windows on either side of the door, gave acces3 to the front parlors ; the rear hall, leading to the sitting-room and kitch- en, was lighted by a tall arched window over the stairs. The hall with its balustraded stair-case, the parlors and cham- bers with their pannelled walls, their deep window-seats, their chimney-pieces flanked by arched and pilastered alcoves — all were in just proportion and with the classic details handed down from the days of good Queen Anne or Dutch "William. So far, the house, within and without, was only a fine specimen of the man- sions of wealthy citizens of the provincial period in and around Boston. The feature which distinguished it from its neighbors was the rich, elaborate and peculiar decoration of the north parlor on the right of the entrance hall. Opposite the door was the ample fire-place with its classic mantelpiece, a basket of flowers and scroll-work in relief upon its frieze. On the right of the chimney piece was an arched alcove, lighted by a narrow window ; on the left an arched buffet with a vaulted ceiling. The other three walls were divided into compartments by fluted pilasters of the Corinthian order, which suppoiled the entablatures with its dentilled cornice. The flutings and capitals of the pilasters, the ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 61 dentils of the cornice, the vault and shelves of the buffet, were all heavily gilded. So far, as before mentioned, it was only a rich example of the prevalent style. The peculiar decoration consisted of a series of raised panels filling these compartments, reaching from the surbase to the frieze, eleven in all, each embellished with a romantic landscape painted in oil colors, the four panels opposite the windows being further enriched by the emblazoned escutcheons of the Clarks, the Sal- tonstalls, and other allied families. Beneath the surbase, the panels, as also those of the door, were covered with arabesques. The twelfth painting was a view of the house upon a horizontal panel over the mantel, from which this engraving was made by the Photo-Electrotype process, and beneath this panel, inscribed in an oval, was the monogram of the builder, W. C. At the base of the gilded and fluted vault of the buffet was a painted dove. The floor was inlaid with divers woods in multiform patterns. In the center, surrounded by a border, emblazoned in proper colors, was the escutcheon of the Clarks, with its three white swans. The mere enumeration of the details fails to give an idea of the impression made by this painted and gilded parlor, not an inch of whose surface but had been elaborated by painter, gilder, carver or artist, to which the blazoner had added heraldic emblems ; so that, as you looked round these walls, the romantic ruins and castles seemed placed there to suggest, if not to portray, the old homes of a long line of ancestors, and the escutcheons above to confirm the suggestion, thereby enhancing the splendor of the present by the feudal dignity of an august past. The house was erected by the Hon. William Clark, Esq., a wealthy merchant and councillor. It is supposed to have been built about 1712-1715, for the land was purchased of Ann Hobby, widow, and several other heirs, December 10, 1711, for £725 current money. If so, Councillor Clark lived many years to enjoj 7 the sumptuousness of his new house and the envy of his neighbors. His death, in 1742, was attributed by some to the loss of forty sail of vessels in the French war. After his death the estate was conveyed to his son-in-law, Deacon Thomas Green- ough, for £1,400, old tenor, and was by him sold to Sir Charles Henry Frankland, Bart., for £1,200 sterling. Sir Harry Frank- land, as he was familiarly called, heir to an ample fortune, and, what added to his interest here, a descendant in the fourth gener- 62 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. ation from Oliver Cromwell, came to this country in 1741, as Col- lector of the port of Boston, preferring that office to the Govern- orship of Massachusetts, the alternative oifered him by George II. Upon an official visit to Marblehead, he was struck by the radiant beauty of a young girl of sixteen, maid-of-all-work at the village inn, bare-legged, scrubbing the floor ; inquired her name, and, upon a subsequent visit, with the consent of her parents, conveyed her to Boston and placed her at the best school. The attachment he conceived for her appears to have been returned, though Sir Charles did not offer her marriage. The connection between this high official and his fair protege causing scandal, Frankland pur- chased some 500 acres of land in Hopkinton, which he laid out and cultivated with taste, built a stately country-house and exten- sive farm buildings, and there entertained all the gay companions he could collect with deer and fox hunts without, with music and feasting within doors, duly attending the church of his neighbor, the Rev. Roger Price, late of King's Chapel, Boston, of which Frankland had been, from his arrival, a member. Called to England by the death of his uncle, whose title he inherited as fourth baronet, he journeyed to Lisbon, and there, upon All- Saints Day, 1755, on his way to high mass, he was engulfed by the earthquake, his horses killed, and he would have perished miserably but for his discovery and rescue by the devoted Agnes. Grateful and penitent, he led her to the altar, and poor Agnes Surriage, the barefooted maid-of-all-work of the inn at Marble- head, was translated into Lady Agnes Frankland. It was upon Sir Harry Frankland's return from Europe in 1756 that he became the owner of the Clark House, lived in it one short year, entertaining continually, with the assistance of his French cook, Thomas, as appears by frequent entries in his jour- nal ; was then transferred to Lisbon as Consul General, and so, with the exception of brief visits to this country in 1759 and 1763, disappearing from our horizon. After his death at Bath, England, in 1768, his widow returned here, but not until she had recorded her husband's virtues upon a monument "erected by his affectionate widow, Agnes, Lady Frankland," — dividing her year between Boston and Hopkinton, exchanging civilities with those who had once rejected her, till the contest with England rendered all loyalists and officials unpopular. Defended by a guard of six soldiers, Lady Frankland entered ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 63 Boston about the first of June, 1775 ; witnessed from her window in Garden Court street the battle of Bunker Hill, took her part in relieving the suffering's of the wounded officers, and then in her turn disappeared, leaving her estates in the hands of members of her family, thereby saving them from confiscation, which was the fate of her neighbor Hutchinson. Upon her death in England in 1782 the town mansion passed by her will to her family, and was sold by Isaac Surriage in 1811 for $8000 to Mr. Joshua Ellis, a retired North End merchant, who resided there till his death. Upon the widening of Bell Alley, in 1832, these two proud mansions (the Frankland and Hutchinson houses) long since deserted by the families whose importance they were erected to illustrate and perpetuate, objects of interest to the poet, the artist, and the historian, alike for their associations with a seemingly remote past, their antique splendor, and for the series of strange romantic inci- dents in the lives of their successive occupants, were ruthlessly swept away. 64 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. DALTON MANSION. In 1756, Captain James Dalton purchased an estate in Boston lying between Water and Milk streets. At the time of the pur- chase the land was occupied by a tan-yard, garden, dwelling houses and other structures. These buildings were pulled down. In 1758, Captain Dalton built upon the property a Mansion House, which was occupied by himself and his family during his life, and afterwards by his son, Peter Roe Dalton, during his life. The house was three stories high, 46 feet long and 20 feet wide ; the back wall of brick, the front and sides of framed timber and rough-cast ; the roof sloping towards the front and ends, but without slope toward the rear, where it was supported by the brick wall. The front was towards the eastward. Soon after its completion, a new street (now Congress street) was ordered by a committee of the General Court to be laid out through the estate, running from Water to Milk streets. This was owing to the rebuilding of that part of the town after the " great fire" of 1760. The projected street was partly a re-establishment of the old " Leverett's Lane," which ran from King street (now State) to about the middle of Water street, and which was then ordered to be continued through the intervening land from Water street southwardly to Milk street. The new portion of the street was to pass through Capt. Dalton's land, east of his dwelling- house, in such a manner as to divide it very unequally. In 1761, Capt. Dalton addressed a memorial to the General Court, setting forth the facts and praying that the location of the new street, between Water and Milk streets, might be moved farther to the westward in his estate and to join Milk street oppo- site Atkinson (now Congress) , and furthermore agreed with the Town Treasurer to require no compensation for his land taken for the new street, and also with Frances Borland, an abuttor, to pay him any loss he might suffer by the alteration if the change was made. The street was laid out as proposed by Capt. Dalton, and was at first known as " New street," afterwards called " Dalton's Lane," and finally " Dalton street," until 1800, when the name was changed to " Congress street." The estate is now owned by the United States, and is covered by the New Post Office and Court House. Capt. Dalton, in his early life, was a seafaring man. He com- manded vessels sailing between Boston and London and other D > r H O > w i—i O 2 o r d x o G w 2 o n H PI ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 69 foreign ports, and subsequently engaged in mercantile and shipping business, trading to Southen ports, West Indias, Europe and the British Provinces, and sending his sons as supercargoes in his ships. He died April 21, 1783, aged 65 years, and was succeeded by his son, Peter Eoe Dalton, who, during the Revolution, was Deputy Cornmissary-General of Supplies of Issue in the Continental Ser- vice. In 1782, he was appointed by the General Court on the committee for settling the accounts of the Board-of-War. also for adjusting the claims consequent upon the Penobscot expedition in 1779. He was afterwards cashier of the Massachusetts Bank, and subsequently was appointed cashier of the United States Branch Bank in Boston. He occupied the Mansion until his death in 1811, aged 68 years. OLD HOUSE ON PRINCE STREET. This old building has no particular historic interest connected with it. We show it here as a specimen of the old buildings yet remaining at the North End. It is reproduced from an etching made by Darius Cobb, w T ho says: "This broken-down piece of antiquity is situated on the corner of Prince and Margaret streets. The spectator will not mistake it for an edifice on the Back Bay. The aristocratic eye of Nature, however, has fashioned it to delight the seeker of picturesque objects. The buildings around here date far back of the Revolution, its rear neighbor claiming the start of a full century. Up on Margaret street 'Mann Shippen' used to put bars across the road to keep her cows from straying out of the pasture (Copp's Hill) . A section of the spire of Christ Church is seen in the distance." 70 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE OLD FEATHER STOKE. Two views are here presented of the old Feather Store. The first a full page engraving was drawn and engraved by the Photo- Electrotype process, from a painting presented to the Mas- sachusetts Historical Society in 1871, by "VV. H. "Whitmore ; who painted the original is not known but its accuracy of outline is un- questioned. There are but few views of this antique structure in existance and the one here given is particularly valuable for the street view and surrounding buildings shown. The " Old Cocked Hat," or the " Feather Store" as it was more familiarly known stood at the corner formed by North street and Market Square, and bore the date of its erection 1680, plainly up- on the gable end facing Dock Square, until the whole structure was demolished in 1860. Its name " Old Cocked Hat " was deriv- ed from a fancied resemblance to the cocked hats worn during the war of Independence. Its later name arose from the fact ot its long being occupied by dealers in feathers, a bag containing which and inscribed " Feathers" will be seen suspended from one of its windows in the engraving. The building was of wood, covered with plaster on the outside, with which were mixed fragments of glass bottles. Numerous ornamental figures were traced upon this rough surface. On two sides, south and south west, the water once flowed, and in digging not far from here, some years ago to settle a disputed boundary question, the capstan and ring bolt of the old wharf were uncovered within the present sidewalk. The second view of this venerable building is taken from a different point of observation from the first one. The drawing was made a short time before its destruction in 1860, and shows the building as it is most generally remembered by the present generation. Snow says that the principal apothecary shop of the town was kept here. From the numerous emblematic and other long signs shown in the accompanying full page engraving there is no doubt but what " Thomas Hollis, Druggist and Apothecary," did quite a thriving business. w O G H < I — I W o Tl ■-3 17] O r D > w po in O 5d M < »— 1 W o M o r O > W GO o ANTIQUE VIEW S OF BOSTON. 75 JULIEN S RESTOKATOR. The old Julien House stood at the corner of Milk and Congress Streets, on the site of the New Post Office, and must ever remain an object of interest to all gastronomers. It was called " Julien's Restorator," and was the first establishment noticed with this dis- tinctive title ; all the rest were taverns or boarding houses. M. Jean Baptiste Julien was the inventor of that agreeable pot- age " St. Julien Soup." He came to this country as cook to the celebrated Dubuque, who was a refugee from the French Revolu- tion. The old house with its gables, overhanging upper stories, and huge chimney, was taken down in 1824, and succeeded by Julien, afterward Congress Hall. Its site was once a tan-yard. After M. Julien's death in 1805, his widow succeeded him, keep- ing the house for ten years. It is supposed to have been built about 1760. JULIETS RESTOKATOR. (Formerly stood at the comer of Milk and Congress Streets, on the site of the new Post Office.) A peculiar fact in connection with this site is that the buildings that have stood upon it have born a charmed existence in the midst of two of the greatest fires Boston has ever experienced. In 76 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. March, 1760, a fire broke out on Cornhill and burned nearly every building, south of that locality to Long Wharf and Fort Hill. One hundred and seventy-four buildings being destroyed. Julien's Eestorator was then occupied by a Mr. Calfe as a dwelling, and all the houses from the one next to it to the foot of Milk street were consumed. In the great fire of November, 1872, the New Post Office stood like a bulwark between the devouring element and the buildings back of it, until the flames had spent their force. The remains of this noted restaurateur of the town — Monsieur Julien — lie in the Central Burying Ground. The inscription on the stone that marks his resting place reads : IN MEMORY OF MR. JOHN B. JULIEN, WHO DIED JUNE 30TH., 1805. AET. 52. In hope of that immortal bliss, To rise and reign s\here Jesus is, His flesh in peaceful slumber lies Till tbe last trump shall sound, arise I There are those who think that this famous man lived many years later, undoubtedly, because the widow carried on the busi- ness after his decease, as was advertised in one of the obituary notices of her husband, and perhaps, because his famous soup is not yet excluded from sumptuous bills of fare on festive oc- casions. THE LAMB TAVERN. The Adams House on Washington street now stands on the site of the famous old hostlery the Lamb Tavern — sometimes styled the White Lamb. The "Lamb "was an unpretentious building of two stories, but of good repute in Old Boston. The sign is noticed as early as 1746. Col. Doty kept at the sign of the Lamb in 1760 ; Edward Kingman kept it in 1826, after which it was conducted successively by Laban Adams, for whom the house was named, father of "Oliver Optic" (W. T. Adams), and by A. S. Allen. The first stage-coach to Providence, advertised July 20, 1767, by Thomas Sabin, put up at the sign of the Lamb. The White Horse and the Lion Taverns, well known public re- sorts, were near neighbors of the Lamb. r > a > < ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 79 TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE. This quaint looking structure stood near the town dock, its site now being occupied by the building at the head of North Market Street, with a moiety in Merchants' Row and Clinton Street and was opposite the swing bridge. It measured on the side facing the dock forty-eight feet ; on Eoebuck passage fifty-one feet, and on the rear fifty-five feet. It was a two story building, with stone toundaton. and had a good cellar. At each angle and in the centre there was a tower, each terminating in a pointed roof of slate, and were capped with a stone ball on iron spires set in lead, except the middle tower, which had a wooden one. TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE. (Formerly stood at the head of North Market Street, between Merchant's Row and Clinton Street.) The peculiar architecture of the building and the fact that its history was shrouded in doubt led to various suppositions as to the purpose for which it was constructed. Its great strength caused many too think it was built for a fort or a Custom House, but there is no positive evidence of such being the case, and the 80 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. general supposition is that it was built by London merchants for a warehouse, about 1700. It was torn down in August, 1824, to make way for the improvements then inaugurated in that locality. At one time it was a place of considerable business and latterly the public scales were kept there. The bricks in the building were of larger size than those now used and the foundation stood on a sandy marsh. The engraving here given of the building was reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype Engraving process from Shaw's History of Boston 1817. Snow's History of Boston, published in 1825, contains an engraving of this building, which shows many alterations in the first story, but otherwise is the same. Drake's History published in 1876, also contains a cut of it but shows the whole building reversed ; that is the windows, etc. , which are on the right in Shaw's and Snow's are on the left in Drake's. This is probably the fault of the engraver and has led us to give the preference to the works published at or about the time the building was still standing. S. W. VIEW OF THE OLD STATE HOUSE. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 83 THE OLD STATE HOUSE. This engraving of the Old State House is one of the best views in existence. It was reproduced from the Mass. Magazine for 1793, and is a view looking down State street from Washington street. "What makes it especially valuable is the view it presents of the buildings surrounding it, and the animated appearance of the street, with its numerous vehicles, horsemen and pedestrians, dressed in the costumes of that period. The Mass. Magazine contained the following description of the engraving at the time of its publication. ' ' The present large and elegant Plate exhibits a superb S. W. view of the State House, with the sketch of several capital buildings improved by mer- chants of eminence. The busy scenes of life which are daily act- ing on this populous theatre of general resort, are strongly deli- neated by the various groups of industrious citizens passing to and fro, on horse back, afoot or in carriages. The shipping, discov- ered at a distance, whose towering masts appear like a rising for- est, has a peculiarly fine effect, and the tout ensemble forms the fi- nest view that we have ever offered to our generous patrons." The smaller reproduction of the Old State House, presented in this collection was published in the Mass. Magazine in 1791, only two years earlier and is virtually the same view, the only diffier- ence of moment, being that the larger one embraces more of the surroundings and is fuller in details. The Old State House stands on the site of the first Townhouse, prior to the building of which it was a market place, the earliest in the town. The Townhouse was erected between 1657 and '59 of wood. It was destroyed in the great fire of 1711. In the fol- lowing year 1712, a brick edifice was erected on the same spot. This the fire of 1747, consumed and with it many valuable records were lost. The present State House was erected the following year 1748, but it has undergone many interior changes, the exte- rior however presenting nearly the same appearance as when first erected. From 1750 to 1830 Faneiul Hall was used as a town house, and the first city government was organized there. In 1830 the city government removed to the old State House which was, on Sept. 17, dedicated as the City Hall. After the Revolu- tion it became the place of meeting of the Legislature, and has ever since been called the old State House ; the General Court of the Commonwealth was also established here at this time. In 84 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 1798. tne legislature moved to the new State House, ou Beacon Hill. In 1768 it was used as a barrack for British troops ; in 1838 the United States Post Office, and for many years as the Mer- chants' Exchange. The Convention that ratified the United States Constitution met here before adjourning to the Federal Street church. The Boston Massacre occurred in front of its doors. In it Samuel Adams said " Independence was born." In Octo- ber 1789, Washington received the homage of the people from a temporary balcony at the west end. The roof and steeple have undergone material changes, the lat- ter was considerably higher at one time than now. A sun-dial, which formerly adorned the eastern gable has been superseded by a clock ; at each end of the edifice were carved figures of the lion and unicorn. In the 17th Century, the whipping post was near by. The news of the death of George II., and the accession of George HI., and in 1776, the Declaration of Independence were read from the balcony. During the Stamp Act excitement in 1766 the mob burned stamped clearences in front of the building. Gens. Howe, Clinton and Gage held a council of war in the building before the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1778 the Count d' Estaing was here received by Gov. Hancock, and here the Con- stitution of the State was planned. On the widening of Devonshire street, a few years ago, it was almost decided to destroy this venerable building, but Boston was saved from this act of vandalism chiefly through the efforts of "William H. Whitmore. This gentleman also secured the appro- priation from the city of $35,000 for the purpose of restoring the building to as near its original condition as it was possible to make it, which he did, even to replacing the lion and unicorn. The second story of the building, which was used in the Provincial period as the Council Chamber and Representatives' Hall, has been reserved from business purposes, and is confided to the cus- tody of the "Bostonian Society," that it may be used for the pur- pose of a historical museum, where may be deposited such relics of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras as may be entrusted to their care. The halls, while occupied by this society, are to re- main open and free to the public. S. W. View of the Old State House. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 87 THE NEW STATE HOUSE. Our first view of the New State House is reproduced from Shaw's History of Boston, 1817, and is one of the earliest prints made of the building. The second is from Snow's History of Boston, 1825, and shows clearly the Hancock residence with a portion of the com- mon, the frog pond and Old Elm in the foreground. The State House, or " the hub of the solar system," stands on the summit of Beacon Hill, the most commanding situation in the city, on a lot which was formerly Gov. Hancock's cow pasture. Near the site of this building stood the old beacon, which gave the name to Beacon Hill. The corner stone was laid in 1795, and the oration was delivered by Gov. Samuel Adams. The customary Masonic ceremonies were conducted by Paul Revere, grand master. The original cost of the building was $133,000, but several expen- sive additions and improvements have since been made. The north side was added in 1852 ; and the dome was gilded in 1874, pro- ducing a fine effect. It was first occupied in 1798, bythe " Great and General Court," when the Old State House was abandoned. The building is oblong, measuring 173 by 61 feet. Its height, including the dome, 110 feet, and the lantern is about 220 feet above the sea level. The main entrance is reached by a succession of stone terraces from Beacon street. Two fountains and two bronze statues, one of Daniel "Webster and the other of Horace Mann, ornament the turfed terrace in front of the building. It contains several statues and many relics, and geological specimens of interest, together with fossils, birds, animals, insects, and shells. For the sake of the view, which is very extensive and gives a good general idea of the topography of the city, visitors to the number of 50,000 per annum climb the 170 steps leading to the cupola that surmounts the gilded dome. The building was designed by Charles Bulfinch who also designed our national capitol. In the Senate Chamber are portraits of the old Colonial govern- ors : Endicott, Winthrop, Leverett, Bradstreet and Burnett. A fine portrait of Governor Sumner hangs over the President's chair. There are also portraits of Francis Higginson, first minis- ter of Salem, and of Robert Rantoul. On the front of the gallery are some interesting relics of the battle of Bennington, presented by General John Stark. They are a musket, drum, a heavy troop- er's sword and grenadier's cap with the curious conical brass plate, on which, as well as the brass plate of the drum, is embossed the 88 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. emblematic horse of the Duchy of Westphalia. Underneath is the letter of acceptance, written by order of the General Assembly, and signed by Jeremiah Powell, President of the Council. Besides these are two old firelocks, bequeathed to the State by Rev. Theodore Parker. One of them has the makers name on the lock- plate, " Grice, 1762," and an inscription on the butt as follows : "THE FIRST FIRE-ARM CAPTURED IN THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE." The other is more antiquated in appearance. It has the donors name on the lock-plate, and an inscription on the breech which reads : THIS FIRE-ARM WAS USED BY CAPT. JOHN PARKER IN THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, APRIL 19th, '775- In the Hall of Representatives will be found the ancient cod-fish, suspended from the ceiling — an emblem of the by gone importance of the cod to the state. In the rotunda of the building there is a fine collection of bat- tle flags carried by Massachusett's soldiers in the late war. In 1889 the State's business having outgrown the building, the Legislature authorized the construction of the "State House Extension " in the rear of the original building. The extension is of yellow brick, with trimmings of white marble. Its design was intended to harmonize with that of Bulfinch. The entrance halls of the State House are magnificent apartments of marble, the inte- rior one, admitting by splendid staircases to the legislative halls above, heing particularly imposing. The interior of the extension is pleasant, cheerful, well-ventilated, and for the most part conven- ient. It is occupied by the various administrative and executive departments of the Commonwealth and includes two large hand- some halls, that of the House of Representatives and the State Library, besides various legislative committee rooms, etc. The Senate remains in the old building. Grounds of considerable extent have been taken east of the State House to form open gar- dens. These have a fine outlook and are adorned with two monu- ments, one to General Charles Devens, who fought in the Civil War, the other a lofty granite column built by the Bunker Hill Monument Association in 1898, and being a reproduction of the brick and stone monument designed by Charles Bulfinch and which was removed in 1811 when the hill was cut down. The four tablets at its base are the original ones from the old monument. w > O c 2 CO > o G W H ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 93 FRANKLINS BIRTH PLACE. The quaint looking structure here presented as the birth place of Boston's most distinguished citizen Benjamin Franklin — was reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype Engraving process, from an engraving in Shaw's History of Boston. It stood on the site of the Boston Daily Post building, on Milk Street, until destroyed by fire on December 29, 1810, shortly after a drawing had been se- cured. BIRTH PLACE OF FRANKLIN. (Formerly stood on the site of the Boston Daily Post building on Milk Street.) Josiah, the father of Benjamin, became a tenant of this build- ing it is thought about 1685, continuing to occupy it until 1712, and, as Benjamin was born on the 6th of January, 1706, and is upon the Old South church records as having received baptism the same day, upon this is founded the claim of the old house as the place of his nativity. Franklin's own statement, to a person worthy of credit, was that he was born at the south-east corner of Union and Hanover 94 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Streets, while other evidence goes to contradict it. That his early youth was passed here is certain. The Hanover-Union Street building was quite small and of two stories, to which a third was added in latter times. It was parti- ally destroyed by fire in 1858, and in the same year the city tore it down in the widening of Union Street. When Hanover Street was widened the old site was partially taken for that. It was the intention of the owner to have removed the Franklin building to another location but it was found impracticable. Two relics of it, however, are preserved. The blue ball, the sign used by his father, as a tallow chandler, is in the possession of the family of the late General Ebenezer W. Stone, of Boston, and a chair, made from the original timbers, was presented to the Mechanic Charitable Association. The Milk Street building, here represented, fronted upon the street, was rudely clapboarded, and the sides and rear were pro- tected from the weather by large rough shingles. On the street it measured about twenty feet, and on the sides including a kit- chen about thirty feet. The fire by which it was destroyed was communicated to it by a livery stable. It was at this time that the Old South meeting house had such a narrow escape from des- truction and was saved by the exertions of our late fellow-citizen, Isaac Harris, Esq., for which he received a silver testimonial. The portrait on the following page was reproduced from a steel engraving, illustrating Poor Kichards Proverbs : the portrait and illustration being printed all on one sheet. This portrait is con- sidered to be an excellent likeness of Franklin. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 96 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE HOME OF COTTON MATHER. On Hanover street near the corner of Prince street stood the building in which Cotton Mather lived for thirty years. In 1882 it was taken down and the present structure erected, on the front of which is the inscription, " Miller 1882," this being the name of the present owner of the site on which the Mather home stood for two hundred and twenty-five years. No one knew where the site of the Cotton Mather house was till the writer, after months of research in the Registry of Deeds and Probate Court, obtained the folloAving information which located it : John Gallop was the first grantee of the land on which Cotton Mather's home stood. The section or locality was known as Gal- lop's Point. Gallop disposed of it to John Sunderland, who cut it up into building lots about 1650. The first owner of the Cotton Mather lot was John Mayo, and as there is no deed showing how Mayo became possessed of it, it is probable that Sunderland gave him the lot to build his house on, when in 1655, on account of some difference and dissent, he left his church at Nausett in Plymouth and was ordained the first pastor of the Second Church or Old North in November, 1655. In 1672, being old and infirm, he resigned his pastorate and removed to Barnstable in 1673. He then sold his home to Abraham Gording, a sea captain, for the sum of £200. The house is described as being at the "North- erly end of Boston fronting upon the Middle street leading from ye water mill." Lying in breadth on said street thirty-eight feet more or less and in depth one hundred and twenty feet, signed March 24, 1673. Gording retained possession of these premises fifteen years, and then conveys it to Cotton Mather for £200, July 25, 1688. Cotton Mather owned this estate for thirty years during the most important period of his life, and it was here that his most noted works were written. On June 6, 1718, he disposed of it to Joseph Turill, a sea captain, for £500 current money of New Eng- land, probably paper money of a depreciated value. In 1741 Turill mortgaged it to James Bowdoin for the sum or quantity of four hundred and ninety-four ounces five pennyweights Troy weight of coined silver sterling alloy. This was the era of paper money, and our ancestors, it would appear, had as great a dread of it as their descendants have to-day. Joseph Turill had possession of these premises for thirty-one years, for on Dec. 23, 1749, he sold it to Owen Harris, the school- o o H H O % X > H n o a w ^*- ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 97 master, for <£ 3,300 in good bills of credit. Harris owned this estate at the time of his death in 1761. He bequeathed his house, which was valued in the inventory at £400, to his wife ; his pew in the North Church and his negro man Cato he ordered to be sold and turned into money to pay other legatees with. His wife lived thirty-two years after his death, during which time she occupied these premises. She died in 1793, and by her will left the yearly rent or income of her brick dwelling house in Middle street to her niece for her natural life and then to revert to Peter Thatcher Smith, Margrate Whitewell, and Margrate Webb, one-third to each. These three last-named heirs conveyed the estate to Ezra Welch, described as miller, for $2,333.33, Nov. 20, 1795. Welch conveyed the estate to Thomas Waldron, Dec. 23, 1796, for the sum of $8,000. This was probably a bogus sale by Welch in order to defraud his creditors, for William Parker obtained judgment against Ezra Welch in the Court of Common Pleas held in Boston April 3, 1798, to the amount of $4,922.25. Thomas Howe, James Harrison, and Nathaniel Johnson, three disinterested discreet men, being freeholders, and chosen by the debtor, creditor, and sheriff, upon oath appraised the real estate in Middle street belong- ing to the debtor, and after deducting the mortgage and interest due on same amounting to $1,667.38 declared the equity in said estate to be worth $3,499, which equity and seizin was delivered to William Parker, the creditor, by the sheriff, agreeable to the order of the court June 7, 1798. William Parker conveyed the estate to Asa Payson and Edward Holbrook for the sum of $5,100 June 17, 1799. Thomas C. Amory, merchant, assignee of the estate and effects of Asa Payson, and Edward Holbrook, merchant and bankrupt, con- vey the estate to Peter Bicknell and John White for the sum of $5,141, Jan. 10, 1803. John White conveyed his undivided one-half to Henry Hutchin- son for the sum of $4,000, Jan. 22, 1807. Henry Hutchinson, sailmaker, conveys to James Percival, mar- iner, his one undivided half of said estate for the sum of $3,800 Sept. 8, 1809. James Percival conveys his one-half of the estate to Andrew Homer for $5,000 Feb. 17, 1816. Andrew Homer conveyed his one-half interest to John Howard, merchant, for $5,000 July 11, 1817. 98 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Peter Bicknell to George Bass, hatter, his one-half interest in said estate for $3,050 Aug. 8, 1822. George Bass conveys it back again to Bicknell for same amount Aug. 15, 1822. Peter Bicknell, woodwharfinger, for $3,050 conveys his undivided one-half to John Howard Aug. 15, 1822. This last conveyance gives John Howard possession of the whole estate. On March 17, 1880, Elizabeth L. Means and Ann Maria Conant, widow's daughters and sole heirs-at-law of John Howard, convey the said premises to John Miller for the sum of $26,000. Miller tore down the old building and erected the present structure. From Mi's. Means the writer obtained much valuable informa- tion. She lived the greater part of her life in the Cotton Mather building. She, however, was not aware that it ever belonged to John Mayo or Cotton Mather. She stated that when her father bought the other half of the house of Peter Bicknell he let it to Henry Ware, the father of Rev. John F. W. Ware, late pastor of the Arlington-Street church, who lived there about three years, during which his mother and brother died there. After Mr. Ware moved out, Captain Atwood, who commanded the packet that sailed from Boston to Albany, moved in, and afterward the following- named persons came to live here : Mr. George Thatcher, a merchant on Long Wharf, Mr. Samuel Cutter, Zebina Raymond, afterward Mayor of Cambridge. William Barnicoat, chief of the fire depart- ment, was the last occupant before the lower story was altered into stores in 1846 when the front of the building was taken down and the area in front built over, thereby making two stores, one of which was occupied for the purpose of selling English dry goods, and the other for a hat and cap store. When the building was altered Mrs. Means preserved the fan light that was over the front door, also a pilaster that supported the porch, and several blue Dutch tiles from the front of the fireplace representing religious subjects which were evidently placed there by John Mayo or Cotton Mather. The relics, at the request of Mrs. Means, the writer presented to the Bostonian Society. The illustration of the building was made from a description given by Mrs. Means. The sketch, on being shown to old residents of the North End, was readily recognized as the residence of John Howard. King GEORGE the Third, Crown'd September 22d 1761. I New-England {PRIMER! t Improved. ^ For the more eafy attaining the tme|c. t Reading of Englifh. # To which is added, |* $The AflembJy of Divines,-! f and Mr. Cotton's # % . # § Catechifm. I # * |( U.QC OQOOQOgQOOQO |* %BOSTON: Printed and Sold by f S S.Adams, in ghteen Jlreet. 1762. # In Adam's Fall, We finned all. Heaven to find, The Bible mind. Christ crucify'd, For Sinners dy'd. TheDeluge drown'd The Earth around. Elijah hid, By Ravens fed. Thejudgment made Felix afraid. MR. John Rocers, Minilier of the Gofpel in London, was the f.rft Mar- tyr in Queen Mary's Reign, nnd was burnt at Smitbf.rU. February 14th. 1554. His Wife with nine fmall Children, ar.d o«e at her BreaD, following KLm ro tbe.Suke; with which forrowful infill he was r.o: in ihe leall daun;ed, bui with ivoundctfv) Pati- ence died coy rage oufiv for the Gofrc'of J«fos ChriS. Sen. First Four Pages of the New England Frimer. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF B.OSTON. 99 THE NEW ENGLAND PRIMER. The New England Primer is a very small subject, only about three inches square, yet, small as are its dimensions, it is something that for a century and a half at least exerted no small influence on the creed, the morals, and the institutions of New England. For five or six generations it was an inmate of every household ; it was studied in every school, and its teachings, received in earliest childhood, remained as familiar truths when the failing memory of age had let so all else save the Bible. It was sometimes called the "little Bible of New England." No one knows when the first New England Primer was published, or by whom it was compiled, or by what artist it was first "Adorned with cuts." As early as 1691, Benjamin Harris, a printer and bookseller in Boston, adver- tised it for sale. A single copy remains of an Indian Primer, complied by John Eliot, and printed in Cambridge in 1699. This is sixty-eight years older than the first edition of the New England Primer of which any complete copy can be found. The edition of 1762, printed and sold by S. Adams in Queen st. , is considered very rare. It con- tains for the frontispiece a wood cut of "King George the Third," also the rude type-metal cut of "Mr. John Rogers, Minister of the Gospel in London, the first Martyr in Queen Mary's Reign, about to be burnt at Smithfield, his Wife with nine small children and one at her Breast following him to the Stake." These two pages we have reproduced, and also the title page and the first page of alphabetical series of rhymes, and the wood cuts with which they are associated, commencing with "In Adam's Fall We sinned all." In the various editions of the Primer these rhymes were changed, but the first was suffered to remain untouched. Indeed, if "Adam's fall" and its consequences had not been kept in the foreground, the New England Primer would have well-nigh lost its identity. 100 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. FANEUIL HALL. Our first engraving shown here of Faneuil Hall was reproduced from the Mass. Magazine for 1789. The second one is reproduced from Snow's History of Boston, 1824 ; on this view a white line exhibits the line of demarcation between the original building and the addition of 1806. Sacredly is the Old Market House, which Lovell dedicated to liberty and loyalty in 1743, preserved and treasured. Although much too small for popular gatherings at the present day, its long use for that purpose, and the hallowed associations connected with it, still mark it as the center from which the people of Boston send forth their will. ' ' The Cradle of Liberty" has been the scene of many and stir- ring events. Its sacred walls though silent, echo in language im- perishable, the sentiments of the voiceless departed. There is not an atom of the plain old structure but what is dear to the hearts of the American people. In every moment of public exigency, it has held within its walls hearts that were true to the grand old principles which have made its name a houshold word. In 1740, the people again took up the Market-house question. Peter Faneuil then proposed to build at his own expense, on the public ground in Dock Square, a market, and present it to the town, on condition that the town should legally authorize, regulate and maintain it. His munificent proposition was endorsed by a bare majority of seven out of seven hundred and twenty-seven votes cast. The building was completed in September, 1742, and three days afterward was formerly accepted by the citizens with a vote of thanks to the donor. Hon. Thomas Cushing, moderator of the meeting was appointed to "wait upon Peter Faneuil, Esq., and in the name of the town to render him their most hearty thanks for so bountiful a gift." The town voted to call the hall Faneuil Hall forever. John Lambert, the painter, was the first architect of Faneuil Hall ; Samuel Ruggles was the builder. Originally the building was only intended to be one story, but with characteristic generosity, Mr. Faneuil added another story for a Town Hall. It was forty by one hundred feet in size, just half its present dimensions, and would accommodate one thousand persons. The whole interior was destroyed by fire, January, 13, 1763. The town was aided in re-building by the State, which authorized a lottery with that object. The first meeting after its > •z X > r 00 CD = W = 7W~^7WW^Wm > 2! c > r r 00 to 4»- ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 105 rebuilding was held March 14, 1763, James Otis delivering the dedicatory address. In 1806 it was enlarged to its present size, a third story being added. The first public oration in the hall was a funeral eulogy delivered in honor of its donor, Peter Faneuil, March 14, 1743, by Master Lovell of the Latin School, and was " Recorded by Order of Town." The Hall was dedicated to Liberty and Loyalty in the following words : " That this Hall may ever be Sacred to the Interests of Truth, of Justice, of Loyalty, of Honor, of Liberty. May Liberty always spread its Joyful Wings over this Place. And may Loyalty to a King under whom we enjoy this Liberty ever remain our Character." On the repeal of the Stamp Act, Faneuil Hall was illuminated, by a vote of the town. In the winter of 1775-6. the British officers, under General Howe, gave theatrical entertainments there, princi- pally in ridicule of the patriots. The Sunday following the bat- tle of Lexins^on, there was a meeting of citizens held in the hall to arrange terms with General Gage, on which they might leave the town. The oldest military organization in the United States have their armory in Faneuil Hall. They were formed in 1637, and are now known as the ' ' Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company." Faneuil Hall has been the scene of many brilliant social as well as other events. In 1778, Count D'Estaing was given there a mag- nificent entertainment, at which five hundred guests were present. When Lafayette was in Boston, in 1784, the merchants gave him a dinner at Faneuil Hall. At every toast thirteen cannon, typical of the thirteen States probably, were fired in an adjoining square. In the course of the evening a picture of Washington was un- veiled, affecting all present most visably. President Jackson, on the occasion of the opening of a new dry dock at Charlestown, in 1833, held a public reception at Faneuil Hall. A grand ball was there giv r en to the Prince de Joinville, in November, 1841. Lord Ashburton, negotiator with Mr. Webster, of the treaty which bears his name, was welcomed to Boston in Faneuil Hall, August 27, 1842, by Mayor Chapman. Upon the opening of the Grand Trunk Railway, the Earl of Elgin, while Governor general of Canada, visited Boston with his staff and received the honor of a grand ball at Faneuil Hall. 106 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE GREEN DRAGON TAVERN. But a few steps from Hanover street, in that portion of Union street which leads towards the site of the old mill-pond, formerly stood an ancient building of considerable notoriety, known in the olden time as the Green Dragon Tavern, and even until quite recently retaining this distinctive name. It was early a noted landmark, even in the first century of Boston's history ; and, as time wore on, it became as famous as any private edifice — if such it could be called, considering the public uses to which it was fre- quently put — that could be fouud upon the peninsula. If its early occupancy and use brought it into notice, so also was new fame added to that which it had acquired by the gatherings of the Revolutionists within its sombre walls during the early days of the American Revolution, when Samuel Adams, James Otis, Joseph Warren, Pairl Revere, and other " Sons of Liberty " in then- secret councils planned the separation of the colonies from the mother country. In this noted house Dr. Douglas wrote his famous books, and in it he died. By an agreement of his heirs, made September 27, 1754, and recorded with the Suffolk Records, the old mansion- house fell to Catherine Kerr, and she, a widow, by deed dated March 31, 1764, conveyed it, for the consideration of £466 13s. 4kd., to Moses Deshon and others, members of St. Andrew's Lodge of Freemasons. Since this date the estate has been in the posses- sion of the Lodge, from whom was obtained this engraving of the old building. The old tavern stood on the left side of the street, formerly called Green Dragon Lane, now the northerly portion of Union street, leading from Hanover street to the old mill-pond, now filled up and built upon. It was built of brick, and in its latter days was painted of a dingy color. In front it showed only two stories and an attic ; but in the rear, from the slope of the land and the peculiar shape of the roof, three stories, with a basement, were perceptible. It covered a piece of land fifty feet in front and thirty-four in depth, and had connected with it a large stable and other outbuildings. In recent times the lower story was used as the common rooms of a tavern, while in the second, on the street front, was a large hall used for public as well as for Masonic purposes. O W w o Pd > o o 2! > o o o X o c CO PI BEACON HILL FROM MT. VERNON STREET. f ■ s BEACON HILL FROM DERNE STREET. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 115 BEACON HILL. On the sunny south-west slope of Beacon Hill the first settler in Boston, "William Blackstone, located his home. Beacon Hill at that time had three spurs : Centry Hill in the center, Pemberton, also known as Cotton, on the east, and West Hill, or Mt. Vernon, on the west, and was considered quite a high mountain. The summit of Beacon Hill on which stood the ancient Pharos of Boston, is intersected by Temple street, named for Sir John Temple, who married a daughter of Governor Bowdoin. The tract owned by the town was only six rods square, with a roadway of thirty feet leading to it. This was sold to John Hancock and Samuel Spear in 1811, when the action of the abutters in digging down the hill made it untenable. On the top of this grassy mound was erected the beacon, used to alarm the country in case of in- vasion. It was erected about 1634-35, the town having ordered it set on Centry Hill, as it was then known, with a watch of one per- son to give the signal on the approach of danger. The beacon was a tall mast, standing on cross timbers placed upon a stone foundation and supported by braces. Treenails were driven through the mast by which it was ascended, and near the top pro- jected a crane of iron, sixty-five feet from the base, upon which was suspended an iron skeleton frame, designed to receive a barrel of tar, or other combustible matter. In 1790 a monument of brick sixty feet in height and four in diameter marked the spot. It was erected to the memory of those who fell at Bunker Hill, and was designed by Charles Bulfinch. It was a plain Doric shaft, raised on a pedestal of stone and brick eight feet high. The outside was encrusted with cement ; and on top was a large gilded wooden eagle, supporting the American arms. The monument was taken down and the hill levelled in 1811. , The earth which formed the cone was used to fill in the Mill-pond, making a foundation for the Lowell and Eastern railroad depots. A new monument of granite, a reproduction of the former one, was erected in 1898 on the grounds in front cf the easterly side of the new addition to the State House. The four sides of the base contain the original tablets that were on the former monu- ment. The five engravings of Beacon Hill are reproduced from colored lithographs made by J. H. Bufford in 1857 from drawings made on the spot in 1811 by J. R. Smith. 116 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. JOY BUILDING. The old print from which this engraving was reproduced is very rare. It was obtained from the New England Historic Genaloarical Society, and was printed on a hand bill. As it does not appear in any of the magazines of the period that the cut was made in, it was probably used only for that purpose. Joy's building was erected in 1808, on the second site of the First Church, a full description of which we have previously given in connection with the engraving of the church. The church society sold the site to Benjamin Joy, a wealthy citizen, on which he erected this building, The stores and dwelling houses on Cornhill, the former name of this portion of Washington street, were so insignificant that when Joy's building was erected out-of-town people for miles around came in to view the stately edifice, and were greatly astonished at its magnificence. It was indeed the " Elephant" of Boston We have no direct record of its first tenants, but in 1830, when the picture we present was made, many old citizens recollect its oc- cupants. The book-selling firm of R. P. & C. Williams, was one of the leading firms in that trade. Our well known and respected fellow citizen, Alexander Williams, of the old corner book store, was a son of the senior partner. The dry goods firm of Lane, Lamson & Co., which occupied the store in the southerly corner, recently occupied by Percival, apothecary, was in subsequent years one of the leading silk importing houses of Boston, and is, we believe, still doing business in New York. The school kept by John Ware in the second story was quite popular in its day. Our respected fellow citizen, Mr. Rowland Ellis, was one of its scholars. Peeping around the rear corner of Joy's building is seen the sign of W. Fenno, of beefsteak memory. " Uncle " Fenno and his thrifty wife for many years managed the old Cornhill coffee- house in such excellent style that it became a popular resort as a lunch house. There are some old citizens yet alive who retain ap- petizing recollections of the establishment. The building has no remarkable history, nor has anything noteworthy occurred within its walls ; yet it is one of those landmarks of Boston which are so rapidly disappearing that in a few years nothing will remain to re- mind us of these old time architectural monuments. The general appearance of the building was not much changed during its exist- ence and its walls, built by honest workmen, were so thick and o < go r D 5 o ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 119 firm that they were able to withstand the pressure of a much higher structure. The tenants of Joy's building seem to have been well treated and well satisfied with their quarters, judging from the tenacity with which they have clung to it. The late Josiah Good- ing commenced in the room now occupied by his son, in 1836. The late Uriah H. Boyden had a suit of rooms for forty years, and Mr. Briggs, the architect, occupied his room for thirty-six years. Shortly before the death of the late Charles O. Kogers, he pur- chased this estate with the intention of building the most complete newspaper establishment in Boston. Had he lived his ideas would probably have been fully realized, for he was a man of rare fore- sight and executive ability. The Rogers building now occupying its site was built in 1882. . EXCHANGE COFFEE-HOUSE. This engraving was reproduced from Snow's History of Boston, published in 1825, and the description from Shaw's History of Boston, published in 1817. It was the most capacious building and most extensive establish- ment of its kind in the United States, at that period. It was sit- uated in Congress Square, once known by the singular title of Half-Square Court, and fronted on Congress street. The early history of this structure is that of an unsuccessful speculation, which involved individuals in ruin, and seriously injured a large class of the community. It was a mammoth affair of seven stories, far in advance of the wants of its day, and was completed in 1808, having occupied two years and a half in building. It cost half a million dollars. Destroyed by fire Nov. 3, 1818. It was rebuilt in a less expensive manner, and occupied as a tavern until 1853, when it was demolished, giving place to the brown freestone build- ing known as " City Exchange," now occupying the site of the old building. The front of the Coffee-House, on Congress street, was ornamented with six marble Ionic pilasters, and crowned with a Corinthian pediment. It had entrances on the State street side and from Devonshire street. The building was of an irregular shape, rather like a triangle with the apex cut off, and contained about two hundred and ten apartments. It was in the veiy centre of business and was a stop- ping place for stages going or returning from town. A number of 120 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Masonic lodges occupied the upper stories. In its day it was the leading hotel of the city, and many distinguished men have been entertained there. The fire which destroyed the Coffee-House was very destructive. The keeper, Mr. Barnum, lost $25,000. Eleven printing offices, the Grand Masonic Lodge of the State, and several other Masonic Lodges wex-e burned out. The principal floor of the Coffee-House was originally intended for a public exchange, which design was never executed, as the merchants, from long habit, prefered to stand in the street, even during the inclement winter months. There was also a convenient coffee room, reading room, a bar and drawing room, besides various apartments occupied by public cor- porations and private individuals on this floor. The dining room on the second floor would seat three hundred persons. The re- maining floors were occupied as lodging rooms, with a ball room and several society rooms. Captain Hull, and other Naval and military officers, made the Exchange their quarters during the war of 1812. The British Captain, Dacres, who became Hull's prisoner after the engagement with the Guerriere, lodged here ; the twain afterwards became fast friends. It is related that the day on which the Chesapeake left Boston to engage the Shannon, then lying outside of the harbor, the people of Boston expected an easy and speedy victory under so able a commander as Lawrence, and prepared a banquet, at the Exchange, for the captors on their return from the conflict, to which Captain Broke and his officers were to be invited. The result of the engagement, however, was far different from what was ex- pected. w X o X > z Q M O o *j *i w w o G w M ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 123 MONUMENT TO REV. JOHN HARVARD AT CHARLESTOWN. Rev. John Harvard, to whose memory the monument here pre- sented was erected in 1828, was the principal donor to the literary seminary at Cambridge, in its infancy, and has generally been con- sidered its founder. So important and so large was his donation that the civil rulers of Massachusetts, who encouraged and patron- ized it from the first, gave it the name of Harvard College, soon after the bequest. This was in the year 1638, and the amount given by Mr. Harvard was 780 pounds. The magistrates of the colony, though comparatively few in number (probably not ex- ceeding 5,000) and subject to great charges and costs in removing to this country and preparing for the comfort of their families, in 1636, agreed to appropriate 400 pounds towards the support of a college or school in that place. A large tract of land was soon granted to it, and several individuals early made donations of va- rious sums. Mr. Harvard's gift was exceedingly opportune, and was perhaps almost essential to its continuance, certainly to its growth and usefulness. Mr. Harvard came to this country in 1637, and resided at Charlestown, where he preached for a short time. It is believed he was an invalid when he arrived, and he died in September, 1638. He was educated at Emanuel college in the university of Cam- bridge, England, and had the reputation of a good scholar. He was sometime a settled minister in that country, but was, no doubt, of the class of the puritan clergy, or he would not have emigrated from his native land. Very little of the history of this worthy man has been preserved. It is evident his estate was considerable, compared to most of the clergy of his time. For, though several of them were far from being poor, few only had large estates ; and those who had a goodly portion of worldly things sacrificed much by their removal. It is not known whether he had a family, but it is believed he left a widow. There is no record of any will made by him in writing, but his bequest to the seminary in Cam- bridge was sufficiently legal to take effect. Nuncupative wills have always been considered as valid, with proper witnesses whose tes- timony is soon afterwards given. The sum Mr. Harvard gave was a full moiety of his whole property. He also ordered that his library, which consisted of more than three hundred volumes, should be given to that infant seminary. 124 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. The monument was erected by subscriptions of the graduates of Harvard College, in small sums. The amount collected and ex- pended is not now recollected. The monument is constructed of native granite, in a solid shaft of fifteen feet elevation, and in the simplest style of ancient art. On the eastern face of the shaft, the name of John Harvard is inscribed, with these lines : "On the 26th of September, A. D. 1828, this stone was erected by the graduates of the University at Cambridge, in honor of its founder, who died in Charlestown on the 26th of September, 1638." On the western side of the shaft is an inscription in Latin, of the fol- lowing purport : ' ' One who merits so much from our literary men should no longer be without a monument, however humble. The graduates of the University of Cambridge, New England, have erected this stone, nearly two hundred years after his death, in pious and perpetual remembrance of John Harvard." The erec- tion of the monument was sanctioned by a large meeting of the graduates of the University, who were present on the occasion ; when Edward Everett, at that time chief magistrate of Massachu- setts, and one of the best scholars educated at Harvard college, delivered an appropriate and eloquent address. The object was not to have a costly and splendid monument, like those erected in the old countries of Europe or Asia, but a durable stone to desig- nate the grave of a scholar and a christian, and as a token of re- spect due to such a man from the friends of learning and religion of the present age. It is situated in Charlestown. This engraving was reproduced from the American Magazine. o 2: c X w H H O < C-l O z > < > 2d D ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 127 HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 1726—1823 Harvard University was founded in 1638, and is still adminstered under the charter granted in 1650. The principle seat of the University is at Cambridge, but several of the departments are in Boston. For two generations after the settlement of the country, Harvard was the only college in New England. While cherished and honored by the State, Harvard University has been, from the first a private incorporated institution, supported in the main, first by the fees of students and secondly by the income from perma- nent funds given by benevolent individuals. The value of its lands, buildiDgs, collections, and invested fund is roughly esti- mated at $6,000,000. The first engraving entitled "A Prospect of the Colledges in Cambridge in New England," is reproduced from an engraving upon a panel belonging to the Massachusetts Historical Society, and has a special interest and value, as being the only known copy of one of the earliest impressions of the plate first published in 1726, preserving to us the form and lineaments of the three vener- able halls then standing, which were Harvard, Stoughton and Massachusetts. The latter is the only one now remaining. Harvard was burned in 1764. Stousrhton was taken down in 1780. The engraving is dedicated to Lieutenant Governor Dummer, and, accord ing to the following advertisement in the Boston News Letter of July 14, 1726, was first published on that day. "This day published. A Prospect of the Colledges in Cambridge in New England, curiously engraved on copper ; and are to be sold at Mr. Prince's, print-seller, over against the Town House, Mr. Randall, Jappaner in Ann Street, by Mr. Steadman in Cambridge, and the Booksellers of Boston." This view was discovered only recently, mounted on a panel, over which was pasted another view printed from this same plate with some changes, and published probably as late as 1739 or 1740 and dedicated to Lieutenant Governor Phipps. These views were presented to the Society by William Scollay in 1795, and measure 24x18 inches in size. In the foreground is the chariot of the governor with two officers on horseback in the act of saluting him as they pass. The students are represented as wearing the academic gown. 128 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. The second view, entitled "View of the Colleges at Cam- bridge, Massachusetts," and also the description of same, is re- produced from the Massachusetts Magazine for 1790, and is as follows : Holden Chapel at the left, erected in 1745 at the expense of the widow and daughters of Samuel Holden, one of the direc- tors of the Bank of England, who was a generous benefactor to the religious interests of this country, It was used for the daily devotions of the college, and the delivery of lectures by the pro- fessors, till the rebuilding of Harvard Hall. "While the American Arnry was stationed at Cambridge it became a seat for their Courts martial. The second building to the left is Hollis Hall, so named in mem- ory of Thomas Hollis, of London, a great and liberal benefactor, and his nephew Thomas Hollis, the heir of his fortune and liber- ality. It is a large, convenient and well built edifice. It was begun in 1762 and the keys were delivered with much ceremony, January 13, 1763, in the name of the Province, at whose expense it was built. The third to the left is Harvard Hall, rebuilt after the fire which, in January, 1764, destroyed the old college. It contains no private chambers, but is devoted wholly to college purposes. The building on the risht is Massachusetts Hall. This is the oldest of the present number, having been erected in 1720. It contains thirty-two chambers for students, and is a strong and durable as well as convenient house. At the west end is a very good clock. In the space between this and Harvard Hall stood Stoughton Hall. The buildings which have been described are so situated as to form three sides of one quadrangle and two of another. The number of students at present (1790) belongingto the University is about one hundred and forty." The " Souih View of the several Halls of Harvard College," was reproduced from Snow's Boston, and was taken from the balcony of the residence of the president of the college in 1823, and shows the following named buildings, commencing at the left : Massachusetts, Harvard, Hollis, Stough- ton, Holworthy and University Halls. CAMBRIDGE COiEHOX Df 1784. This plan is reproduced from a drawing made by Joshua Green, who graduated at Harvard College in that year. The names of the buildings and streets have been added. The original is in the pos- session of his grandson, Dr. Samuel A. Green, Mayor of Boston. w o H K M o o r f w o H > Q > U Q W > GO > o X a CO W H w i lb I [ f P II laillll E; iiii'„"hi';m:l. 1 -'J i.^.;^, ..viJTIiilJli^ll'il '.!■ . ^ ( go o a H < W o w co M r > r r w O > < > d o o r r w o H ■ • f ILc]^ -vajymvnzs and for^s: Ziny Stock. £t 3U*y ■ -timi In, trie. TreiiuW^, Sol? on t^, 7\f eHf^ E*vcrZajacC D^ctm^V *zS> *>**, tfownf 8 ^ G^ m £y $Z:MATTA cHVStTS: FIRST ISSUE OF PAPER MONEY, Colony- ox tke [Ni 4to\ qS^ '//#n o/ oz-zufull e-v&rt 0/ /fvftvj (ifrw*^fi — — fc?7-?Ae cAf^ and- ' (Jterisicr. of/ALe Colony of «V^ ^Cawachuiett S Bay, cend ' t Qjrcisc-nl /tcy-A&nt^- Paper . /) itiiefljJTny n&ntAp <^sAl- can <7-<^y vua/ FIFTY POUND NOTE OF 1775. a 1:5 W5 5 «* < r 1 r o M W H O o a w M F r 00 CO o w C/3 D O X El o & ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 153 which was Richard Baker's, which occupied the site on which the Tuttle house is built. In this engraving Savin Hill probably appeal's about as it did to the first settlers. The view is taken from the top of Meeting-house Hill, which is shown in the fore- ground; between it and Savin Hill is the meadow, marsh, and creek ; on the extreme left is seen a part of the old Tuttle house, in front of which, running towards the Mil, can be seen Savin Hill avenue, formerly known as "Leeds' Lane." This avenue encir- cles the hill ; on the left of it can be seen the old Baker house, used during the Revolutionary war for a barracks for the troops. The bare spot near the top of the hill shows the rock " where ye great guns were mounted." The stone wall and fence at the base of the hill, at its junction with the meadow and marsh, is where the Old Colony Railroad now runs. The marsh and beach beyond the fence is the playground and bathing beach recently acquired by the city. The plain surrounding the hill is the place where the early settlers lived. The stone walls, and in one case an old orchard, that remain there, plainly mark the spot where their houses were built. The New England Guards camped annually on the level ground on the south side of the hill. The illustration shown here was produced from an oil painting in the room of the Bostonian Society in the Old State House. It shows the camp as it appeared in 1819, with the large bell-shaped tents in the fore- ground, and the high rocky hill covered with cedar-trees. When Lafayette visited Boston in 1824 he attended the camp, and fired one of the field pieces, putting a shot through the centre of the target. It received its present name of Savin Hill from Joseph Tuttle when he purchased the old Richard Baker house in 1822 and made a seaside hotel out of it. This was one of the first hotels of this description in the vicinity of Boston. It was called Savin Hill on account of the large number of savin-trees growing on it. About fifty years ago two avenues encircling the hill were laid out on which many fine residences were erected, containing beautifully laid out grounds. The pressure of population, however, during the past few years has caused several of the estates to be cut up into building lots. The hill is rocky, and with its woods and the magnificent view that can be obtained of the surrounding country from its summit, — "where ye great guns were mounted," — cannot be surpassed by 154 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. any other place in the vicinity of Boston. A person in ascending the hill will plunge into a wilderness, where, in some instances, progress is forbidden by beetling cliffs and thorny thickets. There is not a more desirable spot in Boston for a natural park than this historic hill, or where a park can be made for so little expense. From time immemorial it has been used by the people for a picnic ground, and it should be reserved for this purpose before it is built on and it becomes too late, as would then be the case. TREMONT STREET MALL, LOOKING NORTH. This half-tone illustration is reproduced from a painting made by a daughter of General Henry Knox, who resided near the West- street wall, shown in the picture. It was painted about the year 1800, and was purchased by W. W. Greenough and seventeen other citizens, and presented to the Boston Public Library. In the Trustees' room there is a letter dated March 17, 1875, by B. B. Shillber, giving a description of same. This picture was made before Park street was laid out. On the left is seen the arch forming the West street entrance to the Common, and in the far distance at the end of the mall the King's Chapel can be faintly seen. On the right is the brick wall that surrounded Swans or Washington gardens. TREMONT STREET MALL, LOOKING SOUTH. This view is taken from near the same spot as the previous one, but looking in the opposite direction. On the right is Boston Common with the old wooden fence, and the arch forming the West street entrance to the Common. The trees receding along the mall disclose the river beyond, and Billy Foster's house, where the Hotel Pelham now stands, on the corner of Boylston street. A part of the land was bought for the burial ground. On the left is the corner of Tremont and West streets, showing the same brick wall as is seen in the previous picture. On the opposite corner is the hay scales ; then comes Hatch's Tavern, with Frothingham's carriage-factory in the rear. Farther on is seen the old Haymarket Theatre, erected in 1796, said to have been the largest and best arranged theatre in America at that time. This picture was painted by Robertson for John Howard Payne, the author of " Home, Sweet Home." It was purchased by the Boston Public Library, in September 1871. ■•■. it ;m • If ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 157 THE MINOT HOUSE. The artist has reproduced in this sketch a venerable structure, which enjoyed the peculiar distinction of being the only building within the municipality of Boston that was ever attacked by any hostile Indians. This building was situated on Chickatawbut street, Neponset, Dorchester, which territory as far south as the Neponset river was annexed to Boston a few years ago. Near this spot on this beautiful river were the dwelling places of the Massachusetts tribe of Indians, over which Chickatawbut held undisputed sway before the arrival of the pale-faces on his coast. This building was built about 1640, and was destroyed by fire in November, 1874. At the time of its destruction it was one of the oldest buildings in this part of the country. In July, 1675, the house was occupied by the family of John Minot. One Sabbath while all but the maid-servant and two young children were absent, an Indian, who had been watching his opportunity, came to the door and at- tempted to enter the house. Finding the door fastened, he tried to gain an entrance by the window. The young woman had ob- served the Indians motions. She had the presence of mind to hide the children under two brass kettles, and then run up stairs and charge a musket. The savage, quicker than she, loaded his gun and fired, but missed his aim, our heroine now discharged her musket and wounded the Indian in the shoulder, but be was not so disabled as to give over his design, and still attempted to force his way through the window. The maid then seized a shovel full of hot coals and thrust into the fellows face. This decided the con- test in her favor. The Indian fled to the woods where he was afterwards found dead, five miles from the house, his face scorched and scarred by the burning embers. This was probably a stray warrior of King Phillip's partisans, and was the nearest any hostile Indians approached the New England capital during the war. The family of Minot, in America, probably originated with George, the first settler of this name in Dorchester, and his name is especially honored by the Massachusetts Historical Society as one of its founders. It is said that in the old burying ground, at Dorchester, there was once an old stone with the following in- scription : *■ Here lie the bodies of Unite Humphry and Shining Minot Such names as these never die not." 158 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE PIERCE HOUSE. Within a few hundred feet of the Minot house stands another old building of about the same date. This building is situated on Oak Avenue, Adams street, Dorchester, now a part of Boston. It was built by Robert Pierce in 1640, and has, since his death in 1664, been occupied by his descendants. In the year 1629-30, among the divers godly persons in Devon- shire, Somersetshire, Dorsetshire, and other places, who dissented from the way of worship then established by law in "ye realme of England in ye reign of King Charles ye first," to use the words from an old MS., were Robert Pierce and his wife Anne, who set sail from Plymouth, England, in the vessel called the "Mary and John," of about 400 tons, commanded by Capt. Squeb. They o w o c w ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 161 sailed from Plymouth March 20, 1629-30, having a comfortable though long passage, and arrived at Nantasket, now Hull, May 20th, following. They chartered with Capt. Squeb to carry them to Charles river, but after entering the harbor he was uncertain of the course, and refused to carry them further than Nantasket. Robert Pierce made his way to Neponset, settled on Pine Neck, no^Y Port Norfolk, near the lower part of Walnut street. A few years later, previous to 1640, he moved on to the hill, his boun- dary lines running about 40 rods wide from north to south, from the tide water on the east, and as far west as it was safe to occupy on account of the Indians. He was known as Robert Pierce "of the great lotts," and several generations after the term of "the great lots" was used in conveyances to designate property once owned by him. Several articles of furniture, etc., which he brought from Eng- land are now in the possession of his descendants, and, as a reminder of home, he preserved two small biscuits, engravings of which are presented here, together with that of his house, built about 1640. The frame of the building is of oak, which grew in abundance where the house now stands, one stump alone remain- ing of the original growth, the others having been blown over in the great gale some sixty years ago. Some idea of the size of the frame can be obtained from the fact that the timber which held the stairs is 10 inches by 12, and all are pinned together with wooden tree-nails, like the frame of a ship. The chimney in the center, with fireplace and oven, covered the space of a good sized room, and across the center of each room the beams remain in sight, showing the marks of the axe by which they were hewn into shape. The walls still remain packed with sea weed to make them warm, and the outside changed only by placing new shingles and clapboards where the others were worn away by age. The house has descended from father to son and has always been owned and occupied by a lineal descendant. During the Revolu- tion Col. Samuel Pierce owned it, and a portion of his regiment was quartered here in the attic for a time, while awaiting orders. The house is on Oak Avenue, Adams street, that street being for- merly the only road from Boston to Plymouth. 162 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. VIEW OF BOSTON TAKEN ON THE ROAD TO DORCHESTER. GOVERNOR SHIRLEY MANSION, This is the title of our frontispiece, which is one of the most valuable engravings in this collection ; it is extremely rare and the author is aware of but two copies of it being in existance in this city. This copy is reproduced, and also a number of other engrav- ings in this work, from a large collection of charts bound in book form in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society and "Published according to Act of Parbament, May 30th, 1776, by J. F. W. Des Barres, Esq., for the use of the Eoyal Navy in North America." The views were published in connection with the charts for the use of the army and navy then operating in and about the vicinity of Boston during the seige of same. In the foreground is presented a pastoral scene, beautifully laid out grounds including gardens, lawns, pastures, groves, hills, brooks, and a beautiful prospect of the South and Back Bays, with a view of the town of Boston in the background ; with its tall spires and steeples of meet- ing houses and churches, backed by the high hilly land of West and Beacon Hill, crowned with the beacon on top, and connected with Roxbury on the left by the Neck, which was the only connect- ing link Boston had with the main land before the building of the bridges. On the right hand of the Neck will be observed the South Bay and on the left the Back Bay, on the main land on the Roxbury side will be seen a large fine mansion built by Gov. Shirley in the middle of the last century, its oaken frame and other materials, even the brick, which were of three different sizes, were brought from England, at a vast expense. Shirley Place, so the governor styled it, is a large square, two-story, hip-roofed struct- ure with a stone basement, having a piazza at each end and sur- mounted by an observatory enclosed with a railing. This is the most elaborate and palatial of the old Roxbury mansions, and not- withstanding the vicissitudes it has undergone, it is extremely well preserved. One of its peculiarities is its double front, that facing the harbor on the side farthest from the road being undoubtedly the true one. The upper windows on this side afford a fine view of the city, the hai'bor, and the islands. Each front is approached by a flight of stone steps flanked by an iron railing of an antique and rustic pattern but now rusted by the elements. Entering the northern or proper front you find yourself in a spacious hall of to o in H O JO o r >— < in a Mil !j!i!|liW J I III fill 1 ! l///illl ! iHI 'WW PI ■ - IS ■..'.■ •^rV.'r/>.^>.i^fefwk£;;;.r^^:i/ii»}; > -.v^;^^J.,^' , :;-jL':'i;''ji';J't-* j ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 165 grand proportions. To the right a broad staircase leads to a bal- cony extending around to the left, where two doors open into the guest chambers, in which Washington, Franklin, Lafayette, Daniel Webster, and many other celebrated men have from time to time been accommodated. From this balcony the musicians entertained the company at the table in the hall. The carved balusters around the staircase and gallery are of three different patterns, and the rail surmounting them is inlaid at the top. The base of the balus- trade and staircase is also adorned with a carved running vine. The ceiling around the main hall is beautifully stuccoed, and its floor was originally painted to represent a carpet. To the right and left of the hall are doors leading into the reception room, par- lors, etc. Upon great occasions the two halls were thrown into one by opening the folding doors between. Washington paid a visit to Gov. Shirley in March 1756 and re- lated to him the circumstances of his sons death, at the battle of the Monongahela, where Gen. Braddock was defeated and killed. He was well recieved and much noticed by the governoi, with whom he continued ten days, mixing constantly in society, visit- ing Castle William and other objects worthy of notice in the vicin- ity, little dreaming that it would one day become the theatre of his first great military achievement. In a letter to his friend Lord Fairfax, he says. "I have had the honor of being introduced to several governors, especially Mr. Shirley, whose character and appearance have perfeetly charmed me. His every word and action discover in him the gentleman and politician ". The old house seems queerly constructed, so numerous are its compartments and closets ; many of which are let into the solid walls. The wine-closets in the guest chamber could doubtless tell of many a convivial gathering, and of mirth and jollity unbounded in the times gone by. Wilbam Shirley was Governor of Massa- chusetts from 1741 to 1756. He was the prime mover in the ex- pedition against Cape Breton in 1745 which resulted in the capture of Louisburg, one of the strongest fortifications in America, by a force of four thousand New England men led by Col. William Pepperell, aided by a British fleet under Com. Warren. The cel- ebrated preacher Whitefield furnished the motto, " Nil desperan- dum christo duci," giving the expedition the air of a crusade against the Catholics, made a recruiting house of the sanctuary, and the stout old Puritan, Parson Moody, one of his followers, 166 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. joined the troop as chaplain and actually carried an axe on his shoulders with which to hew down the Catholic images in the churches of the fated city. What a change has now come over the scene. Parson Moo.dy would not now have to go far to work out his mission of destruction, for within a few rods of the Shirley house is now erected a Catholic church and nunnery. Truly time works wonders. Gov. Shirley died March 24, 1771, and was in- terred in the burying ground of King's chapel, of which edifice he laid the foundation stone. His funeral was attended by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and three volleys were fired over his grave, and as the long procession was moving, a de- tachment, at intervals, discharged seventy-six guns, to denote the governors age. Shirley was a man of great industry and ability, thoroughly able, enterprising and deservedly popular. In 1764 the estate was bought by Judge Eleakim Hutchinson, Shirley's son-in-law. He became a member of the Governor's Council and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Suffolk and died in June 1775. Having been a loyalist, his estate was confiscated and sold to Hon. John Read. During 1775 it was made a barrack for our soldiers and was greatly injured thereby. Col. Asa Whit- comb's regiment marched from here to Dorchester Heights on the evening of March 4th, 1776. It was afterward occupied by M. Dubuque who emigrated from Martinique, and whose cook, Julian, kept the celebrated restaurant at the corner of Milk and Washing- ton streets, mention of which has been previously made in this work. The estate passed through many hands among, them that of Giles Alexander, whom tradition says treated his wife so ill that one evening a party of young men of some of the best families in Boston came disguised to his house, broke off the heads of two stone lions who kept guard at the front gate, and wound up their frolic by bestowing on the obnoxious proprietor a complete suit of tar and feathers. A "labyrinth" in front of the house consti- tuted the limit of Mrs. Alexander's prescribed bounds for out-door exercise. In 1798 the estate was purchased by Capt. James Magee, who, while in command of the privateer brig "General Arnold," was shipwrecked in Plymouth Harbor. The brig broke from her anchorage in the "Cow yard" and was driven by the violence of the gale upon the low sand flats. It was a terrible snow storm and so intense was the cold that seventy-eight of the crew including the captain were frozen to death, and from the merciless pelting o w H O o D O 50 O w CO H W 50 W o ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 169 of the waves, 'which froze hard to them, they looked more like solid statues of ice than human bodies. They were all buried in one grave on Burial Hill, Plymouth, where a tablet is erected to their memory. It was three days before the survivors, twenty- eight in number, could be rescued by the men of Plymouth ; they had been during that time huddled together on the quarter-deck with no extra clothing, with no shelter but the skies, and no food, they were more dead than alive when rescued. Magee's widow sold the estate to Gov. Eustis in 1819 and there he passed the re- mainder of his days, and died there in 1825, aged 71 years. Gov. Eustis was very hospitable, which procured him the acquaintance of many persons of distinction. Among the guests that accepted his hospitality was John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Aaron Burr and John C. Calhoun. One of his visitors was Lafay- ette, the guest of the Nation, and his compatriot in the army ; their meeting was very affectionate, they embraced each other for some minutes, Eustis exclaiming "I am the happiest man that ever lived." While a guest of the Governoi-'s, Lafayette attended a tar- get practice by artillery, at Savin Hill, and put a shot through the target nearly in the centre. The Shirley estate was bought a few years ago by W. Elliott Woodward, who cut it up into lots, run a street through the estate which was named Shirley street, the mansion was then removed from Dudley street, where it had stood for over a hundred years, to Shirley street. On the south of the Shirley estate ran the brook forming the boundry between Roxbury and Dorchester, it can be seen on the right hand side of the engraving, entering the South Bay. The brook formed what is now known as Brook avenue, the brook running through a sewer in the street. 170 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. VIEWS OF BOSTON, FROM WILLIS' CHEEK ON THE NOETH, DOECHESTEE NECK ON THE SOUTH, AND A VIEW OF THE HARBOR FROM FORT HILL. These views were reproduced from Des Barre's Coast Charts, published in London, in 1776, of which frequent mention has been made in this work. The view of Boston from Willis' Creek, now known as Miller Biver, which separates Cambridge from Somer- ville, shows accurately the appearance of Boston, on the north side, at the time of the commencement of the Revolutionary war. On the right of the engraving will be observed the Charles Biver, which was not crossed at that time by a single bridge. Then comes the high lands, forming the western boundary of the town, thence running easterly on the slope of the hills, are the buildings, wharfs and shipping. Back of the town and shipping, is seen the mem- orable Dorchester Heights, from which the second view was taken entitled, " A View of Boston from Dorchester Neck," now known as South Boston Point. This view shows us the south side of Bos- ton taken at the same time as the one on the north. On the right of the view is seen Noddle's Island, now East Boston, the en- trance to the Mystic and Charles Rivers and the place from whence the previous view was taken ; then comes the town and high land, consisting of Pemberton, Beacon and West Hills. Still further along on the left will be observed the Neck, with the fortifications at its naiTOwest part, over which float the flag of England. Next comes the main land, on which the town of Roxbury is situated. The water on this side of the Neck is what is now known as the South Bay, formerly called Gallow's Bay, on account of the Neck being used as the place for executions. The water that can be seen on the other side of the Neck is the Back Bay, now filled in and built over by the finest residences of Boston. In the background, beyond the Neck, will be seen the high lands of Brookline. " A View of the Harbor from Fort Hill," presents an accurate view of the Harbor, as it appears, looking toward the eastward from Bos- ton, and shows all the principal islands and the entrance to the harbor quite distinctly. The island the farthest to the right, with the buildings on it, is Castle Island, on which was the Castle, now called Fort Independence. The next island to the left, which can be distinguished by the three trees on the bluff, is Long Island. Then comes Governor's or, as it is sometimes called, Winthrop's Island, because the island was granted to Governor Winthrop very < I— I w o H X w > Cd o 5d 20 o o 20 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 175 early by the Colonial Legislature. This island is the most promi- nent one in the engraving and can be distinaruished from the others by the row of trees on its southerly side. Then in the distance, be- hind the boat's rigging, can be seen Deer Island ; then comes Apple Island, with three trees on the northerly side ; the low lying land beyond is Point Shirley, on which can be seen four trees ; then comes Winthrop. On the extreme left is seen a high point of land jutting out into the foreground, this is Noddles Island, now East Boston ; the shoal extending out beyond this point is Bird Island Shoal, once an island of considerable size. VIEW OF THE TOWN OF BOSTON FROM BREED S HILL, CHAELESTOWN. This engraving is reproduced from the Mass. Magazine for June, 1791, and the following description accompanies it: " The present plate exhibits a perspective view of Boston, the adjacent country, and islands of the harbor, as they crowd on the view from the memorable heights of Charlestown. It occupies a rich variety of scenery, whether the eye is directed towards a town that has lately emerged like a phoenix from its ashes, or takes in that masterpiece of ingenuity which unites opposing and remote points of land together. The towering height of Beacon Hill column, the tall spires of majestic steeples, the flag of commerce waving on the sturdy mast, the immensity of different buildings, the extension of wharves projecting on the billows, the lucid ap- pearance of Castle William, the sea-green beauties of the rolling flood and smiling fields in summer's robe arrayed, are happily united in the charming prospect and arise in such animated gra- dations as leaves no vacuum. Perhaps it may not be amiss to add that Breed's Hill and Dorchester Heights (both of which are within the point of vision,) are the high places of America sacred to independence." 176 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE OLD ELM. The following terse history of the ' ' Old Elm" was copied from an oval tablet on the iron gate that guards the enclosure where once flourished this venerable land mark : THE OLD ELM. This tree has been standing here from an unknown penod. It is believed to have existed before the settlement of Eoston, being fully grown in 1722. Exhibited marks of old age 1792, and was nearly destroyed by a storm in 1832. Protected by an iron enclosure m 1S54. J. V. C. Smith, Mayor. During a severe storm in the month of February, 1876, it was destroyed, notwithstanding the great care taken to preserve it, its branches being secured by iron bars, bands and braces. For years it was one of the most important historical attractions of the Common and it may be said of the city. It was of great size, measuring twenty-four feet in circumference and was seventy two feet high. It is believed to have been nearly one hundred years old when first seen by white men, and in Bonner's map of Boston, published in 1722, it is indicated as a full grown tree. A fine young elm now spreads its branches from the iron en- closure and bids fair to long perpetuate the memory of the parent tree. In the earliest maps of Boston but three trees are shown on the Common, one of these was the Old Elm, then known as the " Great Tree." Near it stood the Powder House. The supposition is that the witchcraft and other executions which took place on the Common in our early history were performed from limbs of this tree. The shooting of Matoonas, one of King Philips' sagamores, is thought to have occurred under its bran- ches, and it is certain that during the revolutionary struggles it was one of the places of constant resort of the Sons of Liberty. Many a tory was hung in effigy from its branches. Perhaps on this account it acquired the name of " Liberty Tree," which it bore in 1784, in honor of its sister elm long and familiarly known by that name at the corner of Essex and Washington Sts., and which had been destroyed by the British in 1755. The engraving — a Mezzotinte — here given of the Old Elm was reproduced from the June number of the Polyanthos for 1813, In addition to the Elm o r d w r > d txf O GO o o o o 2 tVNTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 179 it shows the Frog pond, with Beacon street at the right and the old rope walks at the left. "The view was drawn and engraved," the periodical says, "by Master J. Kidder, a youth of Boston and is his first essay in the art of aqua tinta." The view was taken from the wall near the head of West street. OLD ELM DESTROYED FEBRUARY 1 5, 1 876. The above view of the Old Elm was made from a photograph taken a short time before its destruction. A limited edition of the Antique Views of Boston is bound with a veneer made from this venerable tree, covering the entire back cover, on which is printed a view of the old tree and an autograph letter from Mayor Cobb (who was mayor of Boston at the time of its destruction), certifying to its authenticity. 180 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. SOUTH-EAST VIEW FROM AN EMINENCE NEAR BOSTON COMMON, 1790. This interesting view was reproduced from the Massachusetts- Magazine for November, 1790, by the Photo-Electrotype Engrav- ing Process. The following descriptive matter is copied from the magazine: "The rising ground, from whence the accompanying prospect was taken, is situated near Governor Hancock's mansion, and commands a beautiful view of the south-east of Boston, with a vast extent of private and public buildings, wharves, shipping, and water. At a distance are seen, the memorable heights of Dorchester, whose formidable appearance in 1776, discomfited the military nerves of Britain, and eventually necessitated a retreat from the capital of Massachusetts. The great variety of objects, that crowd upon the point of vision, are too numerous for detail. Suffice it to observe, that the busy din of the town, and the quiet stillness of the rural hamlet, appear in striking contrast, and fur- nish a luxuriant feast to the contemplative and philosophic mind." The engraving shows distinctly the Neck that connects the town with the mainland, to the right of the Neck is seen the Back Bay, on the left the South Ba3'. In the background, on the extreme right, will be observed the hills of Brookline, Roxbury and Dorches- ter, then a gap between the hills which are connected by another neck, with three other hills on the left, formerly known as Dor- chester Heights, now South Boston. On these three hills are now situated the following places : On the one the farthest to the right, Thomas Park and the Reservoir ; on the middle one, the In- stitution for the Blind ; and on the one farthest to the left, In- dependence Square. The foreground of this engraving shows the Common, the Old Elm and the Tremont Street Mall. The shore line of the Back Bay, as shown here, is about where Charles street now is. The view was probably taken from the site of the New State House. The building in the foreground, at the right, is thought to be that of Hancock's or Copely's. Nearly all the territory shown here is now included in Boston ; the Public Gar- den and the finest residences in the city are located on what was the Back Bay, the larger portion of which has been filled in dur- ing the past twenty-five years. That portion of Dorchester, now South Boston, was annexed in 1804, Roxbury in 1868 and Dor- "hester in 1870. go O G H X i W > en -3 < O *l W o eo H O ■z > PI CO r > 2: a ' mm wmm ;! : ; 1 1 1 ii i !i! Ill 1! i 111 ii(i g* Iff 111 Ilj Mil 1 III iiiii 1 i'lii ill ills llliiii: ! I, I u M ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 185 nix's mate island. This is supposed to be the only known view that there is in ex- istence that shows Nix's Mate Island before its destruction. It is copied from Des Barre's Coast Charts, frequent mention of which has been before made in this work. The site of this island is now marked by a peculiarly shaped monument, — a tall pyramid upon a stone base, — the whole about thirty-two feet in height, and resting on what, at low tide, appears to be an extensive shoal, covered with stones of a suitable size for ballast for vessels. This shoal of about an acre in extent is what remains of a once respectable island, as far as size is con- cerned, as may be seen by the following record made in 1636: "There is twelve nix : s mate. acres of land granted to John Gallop upon Nix's Island, to enjoy to him and his heirs forever, if the island be so much." This view of the island was taken about 1775, and shows the island very much washed away on all sides. Long Island Head, on which a light-house is now situated, is seen on the right of Nix's Mate. Long Island then stretches away on the left, showing the cove where the fishermen now are, which is fringed with trees in this engraving. To the right of Long Island Head are seen the hills of © © O C Dorchester and Roxbury, and the town of Boston. There, is a story connected with this island, that the mate of a certain Cap- tain Nix was executed on it for the killing of his master ; and that he, to the time of his death, insisted upon his innocence, and told the hangman that, in proof of it, the island would be washed away. The island was used for many years for the execution and burial of pirates. Captain Frye and others were gibbeted on this island as a warning and spectacle to others, especially seafaring men. There was once land enough on this island to answer for pasturage ground and less than a hundred years back the island was used for the pur- pose of grazing sheep. 186 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE CASTLE. Very soon after the settlement of Boston, the civil authorities began to consider the question of erecting defenses in the harbor, in addition to the fort on Fort Hill. July 29, 1634, Governor Dudley and his Council repaired to Castle Island, with "divers Ministers and others," and there agreed upon erecting two plat- forms and one small fortification, and the Deputy-Governor, Mr. Ludlow, was appointed to oversee the work. This was the first fortification erected on the island, but in after years it was allowed to go to decay, and was abandoned. In the year 1643, the inhabitants of Boston experienced great alarm and mortification in having their weakness exposed to the observation of a foreign power. This was caused by the unex- pected arrival of a French armed ship, under La Tour. He, how- ever, came on a friendly mission, he and his company being French Protestants. It was observed at the time that, had this been a hostile ship, it might have carried off the guns of the fort and two ships then in the harbor, and even sacked the town. After the departure of La Tour, a special court was called by the Governor to act upon the important subject of putting the fort in repair. Several of the towns had determined that if the General Court would not repair the fort they would do it at their own expense. However, after " much debate," it was decided to grant a hundred pounds for its maintenance when it should be in defence and a gar- rison of twenty men residing in it. The work of rebuilding the Castle was earnestly pressed, and Mr. Richard Davenport was ap- pointed to take command of the fort, which position he retained till July 16, 1 664. when he was struck dead at the Castle by light- ning. He was succeeded by Capt Roger Clap, who remained in command of the Castle for twenty-one years. March 21, 1674, the Castle, being chiefly built of wood, was accidently consumed by fire. A new fort was immediately built. In 1689, the fort was taken from Governor Andros, without firing a gun. A new fort was built, in 1701, of brick, in a very substantial manner, and called Castle William, in honor of William the Third. When the British evacuated Boston, they destroyed Castle William. After the provincial forces took possession, they repaired it and, in 1797, its name was changed to Fort Independence. w o > w r ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 189 SOUTH BATTERY. As early as 1632, a fort was begun on the eminence then called Cornhill, but soon changed to the Fort-Field, and finally to Fort Hill. The Bostonians were aided by their brethren in Charles- town, Roxbury and Dorchester ; two years after, it was declared in a state of defence. This battery and fort acquired a celebrity as the theatre of the seizure and deposition of Governor Andros, by the train bands, who approached the hill by the rear and then divided, a part going around by the water to the battery. A few soldiers in the works retreated up the hill to the main body, and the towsmen turned the guns upon them. Andros was forced to yield himself a prisoner. The keys of the castle were next ex- torted from him, and the bloodless revolution was ended. The Sconce or water-battery, which is shown in the foreground of our illustration, was probably not built until sometime after the main work, perhaps at the time of the Dutch war. It was con- structed of whole timber, with earth and stone between, and was considered very strong. In time of peace it was in charge of a gunner only, but had its company assigned to it in case of danger. In 1705, it was commanded by Captain Timothy Clark, who was ordered to furnish an account of the ordinance, ammunition, etc., ' ' meete to bee offered hys Grace the Duke of Marlborough Great Master of her Majestye's Ordinance." In 1743, the battery mouuted thirty-five guns; at this time no work appears on the summit of the hill. In 1774, Jeremiah Green was Captain, with the rank of Major. The British continued to hold it with a garrison, and had a laboratory there. Colonel Pomeroy's regiment, the 64th, occupied the Hill in November 1768. The Welsh Fusileers, who had won a splendid name for valor at Minden, were posted there in 1774, and in 1775, the works con- tained four hundred men. After the evacuation, the works were found greatly damaged, but were occupied and strengthened by the Americans. Du Portail, chief engineer of the American army, came to Boston in October, 1778, to make a survey of the works, when this, with others, was strengthened and put in the best pos- ture of defence. Subsequently, in 1779, when Washington was fovtifjing the passes of the Hudson on a great scale, the heavy guns were removed from all the works here and sent forward to the army against which Clinton was then advancing. 190 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. NORTH BATTERY. The first mention of what was afterwards known as the North Battery occurs in the records of January, 1644, when a work at Merry's Point was agreed upon. There was, however, no definite action taken until 1664, when there appeared propositions about a fortification at the North End "att Walter Merry's Point." John- son's ' ' Wonder- Working Providence " speaks of the forts on Copp's and Fort Hill as " the one well fortified on the superficies thereof with store of great artillery well mounted. The other hath a very strong battery built of whole timber and filled with earth," the latter being the North Battery. In 1706, a project was brought before the town to extend the North Battery one hundred and twenty feet, with a breadth of forty feet, and £1000 were voted for the improvement and security of the work. John Steele had command in 1750. The 52nd, 43rd and 47th British regiments, with companies of grenadiers and light infantry, embarked from the North Battery on the day of Bunker Hill, as did also the 1st Battalion of Marines, led by Major Pitcairn, of Lexington fame, who fell a victim to the murderous fire from the fatal redoubt while gallantly urging on his men to the attack. " Hark, from the town a trumpet ! The barges from the wharf Are crowded with the Hying freight, and now they're pushing off. With clash and glitter, trump and drum, in all its bright array, Behold the splendid sacrifice move slowly o'er the bay I " When Lord Howe evacuated Boston, the North Battery was armed with seven twelve pounders, two nine pounders and four six pounders, all rendered unserviceable. From its position, the work commanded the entrance to Charles River, as well as the Town Cove, and was deemed of the highest military importance in those days of short-range artillery. The town sold the North Battery to Jeffrey and Russell. It became Jeffrey's wharf be- tween 1789 and 1796, and is now Battery wharf, in memory of its ancient purposes. Our views of the North and South Batteries formed the head- ings for certificates of membership of an enlisted " Montross," or under gunner. The Massachusetts Historical Society possesses the original copperplate of the North Battery, engraved by Paul Revere. The South Battery engraving was reproduced from the only known copy, belonging to the Essex Institute of Salem. 03 O G H X W > H H W 50 k; o w o > H O X> uu > -3 XI < o jo n > -a ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 195 BOSTONIANS PAYING THE EXCISEMAN. A short time previous to the Revolution, many cartoons were published in Boston and London illustrative of the difficulties then existing between the people and the government. We herewith present two characteristic engravings of that period. The one entitled "The Bostonians Paying the Exciseman, or Tarring and Feathering," is one of a set of cartoons published in London in 1774, and is here faithfully reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype process. The taxing of America was first moved in Parliament in March, 1764. The result was the Stamp Act, imposing a tax on all notes, bonds, &c. The reception of this news in Boston was received with universal indignation, which was boldly expressed. The stamp agents were compelled to resign, and the act wholly disregarded. This is represented in the Cartoon by the manner in which the stamp act is posted on the Liberty Tree, where the first resistance to the obnoxious law took place which led to its repeal. These disturbances were still fresh in the minds of the people when the East India Company sent several vessels to Boston loaded with tea. The people declared they would not pay any duty on it, and on the arrival of the ships a violent meeting took place in Faneuil Hall and the Old South Meeting-House, whence a party of thirty men, disguised as Indians, went to Grif- fin's Wharf and in less than two hours more than five hundred chests of tea were thrown into the harbor. This scene is repre- sented in the engraving. It is not probable that any exciseman was tarred and feathered ; the object of the Cartoon was to show how the authority of the government was wholly disregarded in Boston. LANDING A BISHOP. The Episcopal form of worship was always disagreeable to the Congregationalists, but it was the power that endeavoured to im- pose it, on which their eyes were steadily fixed. If Parliament could create dioceses and appoint bishops, it could introduce tithes and crush heresy. The ministry entertained the design of send- ing over a bishop to the colonies, and controversy for years ran high on this subject. So resolute, however, was the opposition to this project that it was abandoned. This controversy, John Adams says, contributed as much as any other cause to arouse at- tention to the claims of Parliament. The spirit of the times is well represented in a cartoon in the Political Register of 1709, which we have reproduced. 196 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. REVERE VIEW OF BOSTON. The history of Boston is closely interwoven with that of the American Revolution. The progress of the schemes which finally resulted in the acts of Parliament for raising a revenue in the Colonies by imposts, the gradual and artful plans for rendering the governments in them entirely independent of the people, the Act creating a Board of Commissioners to carry into effect the new revenue laws, and the Act for quartering troops among the people, for the evident purpose of over-awing them into submission, are matters that enter deeply into the history of Boston, and it was truly said at the time ' ' If America is saved from its impending danger, NeW England will be its acknowledged guardian." The Board of Commissioners here reffered to had its headquarters in Boston, and the acts of those composing the Board led to serious difficulties in the town shortly after. The Stamp Act troubles had just ceased and the people were jubilant over the repeal of the Act, when one irritating circumstance after another transpired at brief intervals which showed the people that one encroachment was relinquished only to undertake another. The Frigate Eomney, of fifty guns, arrived from Halifax ; men were pressed from several vessels into the ship's service, which greatly incensed the class of people among whom the impressments were made, and the merchants believed the Eomney had been sent for by the Commissioners to enforce the revenue laws. Soon after, a sloop belonging to John Hancock, bearing the unfortunate name of "Liberty," arrived, loaded with wine from Madeira. As she laid at Hancock's wharf, a party of men went aboard of her, confined the officer in charge below, and then took the wine out of her, without entei'ing it at the Custom House. Mr. Joseph Harrison, the Collector, and Benjamin Hallowell, the Comptroller, decided to seize the vessel, and that it would be best to move her under the guns of the Romney. Signals were therefore made for the fri- gate's boats to come to the wharf. A considerable number of people had by this time been attracted to the place, and by the tims the boats arrived it was with much difficulty and great peril that the moorings were cut and the sloop carried off, for the gather- ing upon the wharf had now increased to a mob, many of whom, supposing that it was another impressment affair, became furious ; swore vengeance and destruction to the oppressors, as all connected o LANDING A BISHOP. Bostonians Paying the Exciseman. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 201 with the government were called. When it became known that a vessel of a popular citizen had been seized, the fury of the mob knew no bounds. In this state of exasperation, they fell upon the officers, several of whom barely escaped with their lives. Mr. Harrison was severely injured by being struck on the breast with a stone ; his son was thrown down and dragged by the hair of his head ; and they otherwise barbarously treated Messrs. Hallowell and Irving. Inspectors were stoned and beaten with clubs. The mob next went to the house of Mr. John Williams, the Inspector General, broke his windows, and also those of the Comptroller, Mr. Hallowell. They then took the Collector's boat, dragged it to the Common, and there burnt every fragment of it. The Com- missioners, feeling no security in their own houses, fled during the riot to those of their friends, and, finding these very insecure retreats, took refuge on the Eomney and were from there conveyed in boats to the Castle, were they remained a long time. Governor Bernard went to his country seat at Jamaica Plains. He consid- ered himself driven to the last extremity, and plainly saw that a crisis had arrived, and his only hope was from a military power. The people were accused of being incendiaries, breakers of the laws, and of maltreating the king's officers. That there was to be a gen- eral resistance of the people, he was well satisfied. This he wrote to Earl Hillsborough, his Majesty's Secretary of State for America. "When the Ministry became advised of this, they immediatly ordered two regiments to sail from Ireland to Boston. General Gage at New York received orders to remove two regiments from Halifax to Boston. Admiral Hood at Halifax was also ordered to hold himself in readiness with his fleet. The people of Boston be- came suspicious that an armed fleet was soon to be expected, and that preparations had been made by the government to bring troops into the town. It was expected that a collision would take place, and a desperate attempt would be made against the landing of the troops, for at the town meeting, Sept. 15, 1768, a request was made that the inhabitants should ' ' provide themselves with firearms, that they may be prepared in case of sudden danger." Great consternation now prevailed in the town ; the officers thought the people intended to surprise the Castle, and that a Revolution was inevitable. On Sept. 28, the expected troops arrived at Nan- tasket. They came in six ships of war, and consisted of the 14th and 29th regiments. Soon after arrived the 59th and a company H)i ANT1 Q UE VIE WS OF B OSTON. of artillery. Sept. 30, the vessels of war, now amounting to about twelve, sailed up the harbor, and were ranged in a formidable manner about the northeast part of the town and came to anchor. The next day, in the forenoon, the men embarked in the boats of the squadron, and at twelve o'clock were landed at Long Wharf; thence they marched up King Street to the common ; here they were joined by the artillery company about three o'clock. With these were two pieces of cannon. Here the 29th regiment encamped. The 14th, in the evening, marched to Faneuil Hall, and a portion were quartered in the City Hall (Old State House) ; then the main guard was posted opposite the House, and two cannon were drawn up, unlimbered and levelled against it. The 59th and the artillery company were quartered in stores on Griffin's wharf. Thus the town was converted into a garrison. The inhabitants could not go about their ordinary occupations without being chal- lenged at every corner by sentinels. Nothing transpired at the landing of the troops bearing a show of opposition by the people. All ideas of resistance were stifled, notwithstanding it was reported in England the previous August that 10,000 armed men stood ready in Boston to oppose the landing of the king's troops. Such a display of troops in brilliant uniforms attracted great attention and in many cases indignant admiration. The accompanying engraving, representing the landing of the troops, is an exact reproduction of Paul Revere's well known en- graving, reduced slightly in size. "PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF BOSTON HARBOR." This engraving is considered as a companion view to the Revere engraving, illustrating the same subject, but giving an opposite view, that of the harbor and islands. It is of great value, as it shows the general appearance of the islands at that period. It is repro- duced from a water color drawing in the possession of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. There is also another similar drawing in the Essex Institute of Salem. This is believed to be the first engraving made of it. v Oi • owc^r u<-/Me rm a. id 0n -jfe'f,n/,Sf/it.' : .3o , .'j76 f H, tlu'Y/tip.j -^vs^^rniec/ %AAoon^v.<$ran/he^h,\sc.6amevi{i the J€a/r6e-usr a*i at jUu/tcrsa ' rru^d th^ Town: the / r Cation t o^'d aid/vim/ „ti t'iirw- Crol/fc* . ft-j/'or a f-f yu/wr <./{',' c/e ^U-rtorm o^-i^/ctiu.rda^ October the /i" the /pusrteesflfh ^ trve^Uy-n^-}th^J^efi^>?e^^>.a cUtachm^nf- from the S^^Jxey- and &■«,,, o/.-lr/;//,,,,*,,//, ■tin>y,/i,--f.Jo/6a,n*ion.l a, n d ■ /Ha^r/i* d tuith i£/8/*>nt~/ a^radr. U>rvi*n* 6 e ait n pV ,/ba OndJi-atii of* irtd/f n/,/i'/ //) iu-v '/irtCf.j of&cunsnon, fecL on tA*c j£o-na ShTuzt-y; the, /day my, a^id ffl/oitrj /f/i/t /tp, it/i King Street. &ach Ceurutun* toadtd.h £o«,y *?**%'* « II A.K COCKS iVhO'Tf C doK a n-d .Mcr//. £7.v niui issn, lP*,NTBO. »- S«l.n bj IUt/l.R£Vr«»- BoSTQN Perspective View of Boston Harbor and the British Fleet, 1768. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 207 STATE STREET MASSACRE. From the time of the occupation of Boston by British troops, in 1768 — admitted by Governor Bernard — frequent collisions between the people and the soldiery became quite common. The influence of these brutal affrays extended far and wide, and that the soldiers committed frequent outrages is no doubt true, but they were greatly exaggerated ; and, probably, in nine cases out of ten, the soldiers were the abused party. It was their misfortune to oc- cupy an uncomfortable position, and those were to blame that sent them, and not the poor soldiers. The tragedy represented by our engraving took place March 5th, 1770. It commenced soon after nine o'clock on a bright moonlight evening. Two young men, named Archibald and Merchant, came down Cornhill together and attempted to pass through Boylston's alley, in which a sentinel was posted, without answering his challenge. There was in company with the sentinel " a mean-lookinsr Irishman," who had in his hand a large cudgel. A scuffle ensued, in which Archibald was struck on the arm and Merchant had his clothes pierced and his skin grazed, and in turn he struck the soldier with a stick he had with him. The Irishman returned to the barracks to alarm the soldiers, and immediately returned with two of them ; by this time the noise had brought several people to the place, and one of them knocked the soldier down. The soldiers retreated to the barracks, followed by their assailants. Immediately a dozen of the soldiers came out armed, and the people dispersed, followed by the soldiers as far as Dock Square, where some blows were given and received. The officers, however, succeeded in causing the soldiers to return to their barracks in Brattle street, where they were followed and be- siged by the mob. Then some among the crowd cried out ' 'Now for the Main Guard ! Damn the dogs ! Let us go and kill the damn'd scoundrel of a sentry !" The sentinel of the Custom House, (which stood on the corner of Royal Exchange Lane and King street, and which can be seen in the engraving,) was the ob- ject aimed at by a part of the mob,* who pressed upon him crying out " kill him, knock him down ! " with other similar expressions. The poor sentinel retreated up the steps of the Custom House, * John Adams, in his " Plea for the Defense of the Soldiers," says : " We have been entertained with a great variety of phrases to avoid calling this sort of people a mob. Some call them shavers, some call them geniuses. The plain English is, they were, most probably, a motley rabble of saucy boys, Negroes and mulattoes, Irish leagues and outlandish jack-tars; and why we should scruple to call such a set of people a mob I can't conceive, unless the name is too resuectable for them." 208 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. beset by a shower of missels. He loaded his gun, which the mob observing, hallooed ' ' Fire and be dammed ! " He then tried to gain admittance into the house, failing which he called upon the Main Guard which was stationed at the Town House, within hear- ing. The Main Guard on that day was commanded by Captain Thomas Preston, who, learning of the trouble, said "I will go there myself to see they do no mischief." The bells were set ring- ing, which many supposed was for a fire in King street. Some- body told Capt. Preston that it was a plan of the people to give notice of an intended massacre of the soldiers, and that a tar-barrel was to be fired on Beacon Hill to bring in the people from the country. These rumors must have given the officers great alarm. Meanwhile the soldiers were pressed upon and insulted by the mob, led by a mulatto named Crispus Attucks and a number of sailors, to such an extent that the only way they could keep upon their feet was by presenting charged bayonets and forming a half- circle in front of the Custom House. The soldiers were unable to keep off the crowd, even with fixed bayonets, having their guns knocked this way and that with clubs. Capt. Preston, at the utmost peril, stood for a time between his men and the mob, using every endeavour to prevent further outrage ; but all to no purpose, while some called out, " Come on, you bloody backs, you lobster scoundrels ! Fire if you dare ! Fire and be dammed ! We know you dare not." * Immediately after, a soldier received a severe blow from a club, upon which he stepped a little on one side, leveled his piece and fired. Captain Preston remonstrated with him for firing, and while he was speaking he came near being knocked down by a blow from a club aimed at his head. The noise and confusion was now great, some calling out " Fire, fire if you dare ! Damn you, why don't you fire ! " with horrid oaths and imprecations. No one could tell whether Capt. Preston or anybody else ordered the men to fire, but fire they did, some seven or eight of them. The mob, seeing that the soldiers were in earnest, began to leave the ground, fearing the firing might be continued. Tbe time occupied thus far, from the time the attack began on the sentinel in King street, had not exceeded a half hour. The result of the firing was that three lay dead on the ground, * It was understood by the people that no soldier was allowed to fire his piece under any circumstance, unless ordered to do so by the Civil Magistrate. Gov. Hutchinson, on arriving on the ground, reproached Capt. Preston for allowing his men to fire. AJSTTIQ UE VIE WS OF B OSTON. 2 1 1 two mortally wounded and several slightly. On the return of the people to remove the dead, the soldiers, supposing they were com- ing to renew the attack, leveled their guns to fire upon them, but the Captain struck them up with his hands and thus prevented further bloodshed. A citizen informed the Captain that there were 5000 people coming armed to take his life and the lives of his men. He therefore disposed his men into street firing parties. The peo- ple had set up the cry : "To arms ! to arms ! Turn out with your guns, every man ! " and the drums were beating to arms in every quarter. As the officers of the 29th were repairing to their regi- ment, some were knocked down by the mob and very much in- jured, and some had their swords taken from them. Under the influence of a number of distinguished citizens, and the Lieut. Governor and Col. Carr, the people were persuaded to go to their homes, and thus ended the memorable 5th of March, 1770. In the morning, a large number of the inhabitants held a town meeting at Faneuil Hall. The crowd was immense, and an adjourn- ment to the Old South was necessary. A vote was passed, that, as it was impossible for the soldiers and people to live together in the town, that a committee should be appointed to request their imme- diate removal. This had the desired effect, and Col. Dalrymple pledged his honor that the troops should be removed immediately, and they were removed to the Castle, agreeably to promise. Captain Preston and the soldiers engaged in this affray were arrested and tried for murder. The counsel for the government were Robert Treat Paine and Samuel Quincy, and for the prisoners John Adams, Josiah Quincy and Sampson Salter Blowers. Adams' plea in their defence was very eloquent. Two were found guilty of manslaughter and were branded on the hand with a hot iron in open court, and then discharged. All the others were acquitted. In 1887, at the instigation of Boyle O'Reilley and the negroes of Boston, the Legislature passed a bill authorizing the expenditure of !$10,000 for the purpose of erecting a monument to the memory of the " victims of the Boston Massacre." The monu- 2 1 2 AJSTTIQ UE VIE W8 OF B OSTOJSf. ment was erected on Boston Common, notwithstanding the fact that the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society voted unanimously against it. " That it was a waste of public treasure, that the affray was occasioned by the brutal and revengeful attack of reckless roughs upon tire soldiers while on duty who had not the civilian's privilege of re- treating, but were obliged to contend against great odds, and they used their arms only in the last extremity, that the killed were rioters and not patriots, that a jury of Boston citizens had acquitted the soldiers." A joint committee, composed of members of both societies, presented the resolution to Governor Ames and requested him to veto the bill. He admitted that "the monument ought not to be erected, but if he vetoed the bill it would cost the Republican party the colored vote." The absurdity of the Irish and negroes requesting that this monument be erected because one each of their race was killed in the affray can be better understood when the fact is known that one of the charges made against these very soldiers was that " Cap- tain Wilson, of the Fifty-Ninth, had excited the negroes to leave their masters and to repair to the army for protection." Dr. Jeffries, who attended Patrick Carr, made a sworn deposition that Carr made the following dying statement to him concerning his participation in the riot : " He said he was a fool to have gone there, that he might have known better ; that he had seen soldiers often fire on mobs in Ireland, but he had never seen them bear half so much before they fired in his life. He said repeatedly, before he died, that he did not blame the man whoever he was that shot him, that he forgave him because he was satisfied he had no malice, but fired to defend himself." When the monument was uncovered it presented such an inde- cent appearance that the City Council immediately voted #250 for a new capstone. It now represents a historic lie, and is a sad com- mentary on the intelligence of the citizens of Boston. Our engraving of the " massacre " was reproduced from a print taken from a copper-plate engraved by Paul Revere. The plate is still in existence, and can be seen at the State House. The description of the massacre is compiled from Drake's History of Boston. AtfTIQ UE VIE WS OF B OSTON. 2 1 3 LIBERTY TREE. In 1774 this tree, with another, stood in the enclosure of an old-fashioned dwelling at the southeast corner of Essex and Wash- ington Streets. In the Washington Street side of the wall of the building, now occupying its site, will be found a handsome free stone bas-relief, representing a tree with wide-spreading branches, this is placed directly over the spot where stood the famed Liberty Tree. An inscription says that it commemorates : LIBERTY 1765. LAW AND ORDER. SONS OF LIBERTY: 1776. INDEPENDENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY 1776. The open space at the junction of the four corners of Washing- ton, Essex, and Boylston Streets was once known as Hanover Square, from the royal house of Hanover, and sometimes as the Elm neighborhood, from the magnificent elms with which it was environed. It was one of the finest of these elms that obtained the name of Liberty Tree, from its being used on the first occa- sion of resistance to the obnoxious Stamp Act. In 1766 when the repeal of the Stamp Act took place, a large copper plate was fastened to the tree inscribed in golden characters : — " Tins tree ivas planted in the year 1646, and pruned by order of the Sons of Liberty, Feb. 14th, 1766." In 1775, the tree, having become offensive to the tories and their British allies, was cut down by a party led by one Job Wil- liams. One of their number being accidently killed in attempt- ing to remove a limb. Some idea of the size of the tree may be formed from the fact that it made fourteen cords of wood. The ground about the tree was popularly known as Liberty Hall. In August, 1767, a flagstaff was erected, which went through and above its highest branches. A flag hoisted on this was a signal for the assembling of the Sons of Liberty for action. One Cap- tain Mackintosh, supposed to have been a blacksmith at the South End, was the first Captain-general of Liberty Tree. &4 E-" !* K W h— i OLD PROVINCE HOUSE. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 217 PAUL REVERE. Paul Revere is a name of which every Bostonian is justly proud. He was a native of Boston, but descended from the sturdy Hugue- nots, Ri voire being the ancient family name. He was a goldsmith by trade, but took up the art of engraving on copper, of which he has left many specimens. He engraved the plates, made the press, and printed the paper money for the Provincial Congress. He was the principal engraver in the colony at the time of the Revolution, and a number of the illustrations in this work were engraved by him. It was due to his skill as an engraver that many of the views of that period have been handed down to posterity. When the troubles began with the mother country, Paul Revere was one of the first to advocate a vigorous resistance to this British misrule ; and no patriot stood ready to risk more, or dare more in the cause of freedom, than did he. His name stands second on the roll of the famous tea-party of December 16, 1773. In the fall of 1774, and winter of 1775, he organized, in con- nection with about thirty other mechanics, a committee for the pur- pose of watching the movements of the British soldiers, and gain- ing every intelligence of the movements of the tories. They held their meetings at the Green Dragon Tavern, and so thorough were these self-appointed guardians of the public safety in the search for information, that within a few hours from the time that Gen. Gage gave the order to march on Lexington and Concord, no less than three different messengers came to Paul Revere with the start- ling news, notwithstanding Gen. Gage declared that he imparted the knowledge to Earl Percy and one other only. Our engraving of Paul Revere's habitation and probable birth- place was copied from an etching, made by Darius Cobb of this city. The building is situated in North Square and built in the old Dutch style, having been erected soon after the great tire of 1676, which swept away this portion of the old city. Drake tells us that from this house Paul Revere gave the striking exhibition of transparencies on the evening of the anniversary of the Boston Massacre. The old pump in the rear was never known, when in repair, to refuse the purest of spring-water to man or beast ; and it continued in constant use until the introduction of Cochituate water. Teams would come down from Middle street (now Han- over, ) and the horses, by putting their heads through an opening 218 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. in the fence, could quench the thirst of a dusty day to their satis- faction. What is Lathrop Place, now leading from Hanover street, was then a passage-way leading to the rear of this house. On the night of April 18, 1775, when the British troops were stationed in North Square, this gave the patriot a clear passage, by Middle street, to North (Christ) Church, with his lantern, which gave \\ -arning far and near of the intended march on Lexington and Concord. At the request of the Provincial Congress, he established the first powder mill in the province, and the second in the colonies. He went to Philadelphia to visit the only mill in operation, but the proprietor would only let him pass through his mill ; this, however was enough for a man of his ingenious mind, and he soon estab- lished a powder mill at Canton. After the evacuation he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of a regiment of militia, and accompanied the Penobscot expedition of 1779. In 1783, after the peace, he established a cannon and bell foundry at the North End ; and later, bought the old powder mill at Can- ton, where be began the manufacture of rolled copper bolts, spikes, etc. The copper bolts used in the construction of the " Constitu- tion," " Old Iron Sides," were made by Paul Revere. In 1795 he was one of the organizers of the Charitable Mechanics Association, and served as its first president. The proprietorship of the works at Canton still remains with the Revere Copper Company, successors to Paul Revere & Son. The president of the company is a grandson of Paul Revere. No more striking instance of the immense strides of modern enterprise can be found than from the fact that, in 1812, rolled copper was sent from Canton to Philadelphia by ox teams ; while in 1870, only fifty-eight years later, cars were loaded with copper ore on the Pacific coast, and sent to Canton, and returned thence to San Francisco laden with copper rolled into sheets and bars. Revere's remains lie in the old Granary Burial Ground. Our portrait of Paul Revere was copied from a painting in the possession of the Charitable Mechanic Association. X o c 00 m O ~n > c r :o m < m m fJUV!^ ft; .1 r PAUL REVERE. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 221 PROVINCE HOUSE. This ancient abode of the royal governors was situated nearly opposite the head of Milk street. The place is now shut out from view by a row of brick stores standing on Washington street. It was built, as a private enterprise, by one of the most opulent merchants of olden times, Peter Sargent, Esq., who purchased the land of Col. Samuel Shrimpton, Oct. 21, 1(576, and completed the building in 1679. It was purchased of his widow by the Col- onial Legislature, April 12, 1716, for the use and entertainment of the governor of the Province. The price paid for it was £2,300. When the Mansion House became public property it was a mag- nificent building. No pains had been spared to make it not only elegant, but also spacious and convenient. It stood somewhat back in its ample lot, and had the most pleasant and agreeable surroundings of any mansion house in town. It was of brick, three stories in height, with a high roof and lofty cupola, the whole surmounted by an Indian Chief with a drawn bow and arrow, the handiwork of Deacon Shem Drown — he who made the grasshopper for Faneuil Hall. The house was approached over a stone pavement and a high flight of massive stone steps, and through a magnificent doorway, which might have rivalled those of the palaces of Europe. Two stately oaks of very large size and magnificent proportions reared their verdant tops on either side of the gate separating the grounds from the highway, and cast a grateful shade over the approach, through the beautiful grass lawn in front of the mansion. Separating the grounds from the street was an elegant fence with highly ornamented posts. At each end of this, on the street, were small buildings which served as porters' lodges. This palatial mansion was the abode of the following royal gov- ernors : Shute, Burnet, Shirley, Pownall, Bernard, Gage, and last of all, Sir Wm. Howe. Here was held the council between Gen. Gage and Earl Percy, relative to the expedition to Lexing- ton, and which ended so disastrously. On the morning of June 17, 1775, another council of war was held here by Gen. Gage and his officers, at which was present Generals Howe, Clinton, Bur- goyne and Grant. Grant and Clinton proposed to land the troops at Charlestown Neck, under protection of the ships, and take the Americans in reverse. This plan, which would have resulted 222 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. probably in the capture of the entire provincial force, was disap- proved by Gage, who feared to place his men, in case of disaster, between the intrenched Americans and reinforcements from Cam- bridge. It was an anxious consultation, and resulted in the battle of Bunker Hill. After the evacuation of Boston, the Province House property was confiscated and became a " Government House." The east- ern half was occupied by the Governor and Council, Secretary of State, and Eeceiver-General. The other half was the dwelling of the Treasurer. In 1811, the State gave the property to the Mass. General Hospital, who leased it to David Greenough for ninety- nine years. He erected the stores now in front of it, and con- verted the building to the uses of trade. It became a tavern, a hall of negro-minstrelsy, and was finally destroyed by fire, Octo- ber, 1864, leaving only the walls standing, which is all that now remains of the Old Province House. Our engraving of it was made from sketches taken a short time before it was leased and altered over. The royal arms and the Indian vane are on exhibi- tion in the Old State House. PANORAMIC VIEW FROM BEACON HILL. These four views are made from four water-color views in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, who obtained them from Mr. J. Carson Brevoort, of Brooklyn ; he purchased them of Charles Welford about 1858. It was the custom to send from the foreign and plantation offices such drawings as might be of interest to the map makers, and it is supposed that these drawings found their way there among such matter. Faden was the King's engraver. At a sale of his effects about sixty years ago many such maps and drawings came to light. The views contained this inscription: "A view of the country round Boston taken from Beacon Hill, shewing the lines, Intrenchments, Re- douts, etc. of the Rebels ; also the Lines and Redouts of his Majesties Troops. — N.B. These views were taken by Lt. Williams of the R. W. Fuzeliers and copied from a Scetch of the original drawn by Lt. Woodd of the same Regiment. The original drawings are now in the possession of the King." ■;■/::■. v-:v ■/-,:/■' ■*:::;;::i::::!i^/;/!!?/j I i s IK, ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 225 GENERAL GAGE. On the 15th of October, 1768, Gen. Thomas Gage arrived in Boston from New York. He was a veteran officer, had seen hard service under Gen. Braddock, being severely wounded at the Monongahela battle, and carried a musket ball in his side for the remainder of his life as a sad memento of that fatal battle ; there he fought side by side with Washington. An intimacy then ex- isted between them, which was cherished afterward by a friendly THOMAS GAGE, THE LAST ROYAL GOVERNOR. correspondence, and which only terminated twenty years after when they appeared opposed to each other, at the head of contending armies ; the one obeying the commands of his sovereign, the other upholding the cause of an oppressed people. History repeats itself. How many cases similar to this occurred 85 years later, when brother officers in arms appeared against each other at the head of hostile armies, and friendship and brotherly love was changed 223 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. to deadly hatred ! General Gage was now in the prime of life, being about forty-eight years of age. He was the second son of Thomas Viscount Gage and served with great credit under several commanders at Fontenoy, and Culloden, and in Brad dock cam- paign. He married an Ameriean lady, the daughter of Peter Kemble, Esq., president of the Council of New Jersey; he had eleven children, six sons and five daughters. A niece of the Gen- eral by this marriage was the wife of the late Gen. Win. H. Sumner of Jamacia Plain. Lord Abingdon of Wytham married Emily, daughter of Gen. Gage ; her maternal grandmother was Margaret, daughter of the Hon. Stephen Van Cortlandt of New York. Gen. Gage was appointed to the government of the colony in 1774 and occupied the Province House. Here was held the famous council between the Governor and Earl Percy, relative to the Con- cord expedition that led to the battle of Lexington, which was so mysteriously noised abroad, and which Gage declared he had im- parted the knowledge of to only one other (supposed to be his wife). Even Lieut. -Col. Smith, who was entrusted with the com- mand, did not know its destination. As Percy was going to his quarters from this interview, he met a number of townspeople con- versing near the Common. As he went towards them one of them remarked, "The British troops have marched, but will miss their aim." " What aim?" asked the Earl. " The cannon at Concord," was the answer. Percy retraced his steps to the Province House where the chief heard with surprise and mortification the news that the movement was no longer a secret. He declared he had been betrayed. If the information was conveyed to Paul Kevere by Gen. Gage's wife, as many have since been led to believe it was, then it is a parallel case to that where history again repeats itself during the late civil war, when it was commonly reported that the wife of the President gave information obtained from her husband to her brother, who was an officer in the confederate army. After the Battle of Lexington and Bunker Hill, Gen. Gage was recalled to England. Before his departure he received several tes- timonials from his friends. The Council and the leading loyalists presented separate addresses expressing gratitude for his civil and military services, and highly eulogistic of his personal character. October 10th he sailed for England and Gen. Howe, his successor, took command in his stead. Our portrait of Gen. Gage is repro- duced from Sumner's History of East Boston. He died April, 1788. aged about 67. 2 &cmec??*cty2 ?6U&b. sjcufot ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 229 FOUR ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD, April 19, 1775. As the interests of Boston were closely connected with the march of the British to Lexington and Concord on the 19th of April, 1775, the publishers of this work have obtained permission of the trustees of the Cary Library at Lexington to copy the four original prints which quaintly and, it is believed, correctly repre- sent the action of that remarkable day. These famous engravings are here faithfully reproduced, on a somewhat smaller scale, but without embellishment. Their special value consists in the fact that they are from drawings made on the spot during the same year, with all the assistance which eye-witnesses could give ; and, although rude in perspective and in execution, they are regarded as the most accurate representations of the battle that have ever been made. In the American army, which was formed at Cambridge imme- diately after the commencement of hostilities, there were two young artists from Connecticut, Amos Doolittle, afterwards a well-known engraver, and a portrait painter by the name of Earl, both members of the New Haven company. During their stay at Cambridge these young men improved the opportunity of visiting Lexington and Concord for the purpose of studying the battle- field and making drawings of the several localities, the buildings, and the forces in action. The drawings were mostly made by Earl, and afterwards engraved by Doolittle, on his return to New Haven the same year. The plates were twelve by eighteen inches in size, and have been claimed to be the first series of his- torical prints ever published in this country. The Connecticut Journal of Dec. 13, 1775, contains the following advertisement : "This Day Published And to be sold at the store of Mr. James Lockwood, near the College in New Haven, four different views of the battles of Lexington, Con- cord, &c., on the 19th of April, 1775. "Plate I., the battle of Lexington. " Plate II., a view of the town of Concord, with the ministerial troops destroying the stores. " Plate III., the battle of the North Bridge in Concord. " Plate IV., the south part of Lexington, where the first detachment was joined by Lord Percy. " The above four plates are neatly engraven on copper from original paintings taken on the spot. " Price, six shillings per set for plain ones, or eight shillings colored." 230 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. These engravings have now become exceedingly rare. The plates were long since destroyed. In 1832, a reduced copy of Plate I. was made by John W. Barber, (afterwards the author of "Historical Collections of Massachusetts,") a pupil of Doolittle's. Doolittle himself assisted in this engraving, which proved to be the last, as its original had been the first, professional work of his life. PLATE I Represents the opening scene of the Revolutionary war. Between twelve and one o'clock on the morning of the nineteenth of April, 1775, intelligence reached Lexington that a large body of the king's troops had started from Boston under orders, as was sup- posed, to seize the provincial stores deposited at Concord. The alarm was immediately given and the militia were summoned to meet on the village green, the usual place of parade. No further tidings being received, messengers were sent to reconnoitre on the Boston road. The militia assembled and waited in arms on the common until one of the messengers returned, shortly after three o'clock, and reported that there was no sign of the troops any- where on the road. Therefore the company was dismissed, with orders to remain within call of the drum. The men dispersed about the village, some to their homes, others to the Buckman tavern, the house on the left in the picture, with the smoking chimney. All was again quiet for a time, when suddenly, about half past four o'clock, a messenger announced that the British were within a mile and a quarter of the village, marching rapidly. Again the alarm bell was rung, and the drums beat to arms. About fifty of the militia, with guns loaded, formed at once in two lines, under Captain Parker, on the north side of the green. The British force, numbering about eight hundred grenadiers, light infantry and marines, under Lieut. -Colonel Smith, had left Boston about ten o'clock the previous evening. They had not marched far before they found that the news of the expedition had gone in advance and alarmed the people in all directions. Colonel Smith therefore deemed it wise to send forward six companies under Major Pitcairn to secure the bridges at Concord as soon as possi- ble, while he sent back to General Gage for re-enforcements. • It was this detachment under Pitcairn that appears in the center and background of the picture. Before reaching the common they had been ordered to halt, prime and load, and then, doubling their PSoU/I. G^^^^^ ( e)^^ / o^ (P#?uvrcfr / 0m/it^nrJ~&>toy- f 'tia^ofnUt/C: iS^wwux^Jt W J? u^ntvi-*/ <3 f/Ce, &U>i i^^e^ru/A^J^- OU BOSTON l~i rL}^ o H O ^d O W w > > w 2: ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 255 of it are rather in the tone of apology than of exultation. The enterprise was considered rash in the conception, and discreditable in the execution. No one for years came forward to claim the honor of having directed it. Passing events are seldom accurately estimated, but as time rolled on its connections with the great movement of the age appeared in its true light. Hence the Battle of Bunker Hill now stands out as the grand opening scene of the American Revolution. Our view of the attack on Bunker Hill and the burning of Charlestown is reproduced from "Barnard's History of England," and is considered a very rare print. A PLAN OF THE ACTION AT BUNKER'S HILL. This map was published in 1777, and was made by Lieut. Page, an engineer of the royal navy, and is from an actual survey by Captain Montresor. Lieut. Page particularly distinguished him- self in the storming of the redoubt, for which he received Gen. Howe's thanks. "This gentleman," says the London Chronicle, Jan. 11th, 1776, " is the only one now living of those who acted as aid-de-camp to G-en. Howe, so great was the slaughter of officers that day." He was on the field for months after the action, and doubtless often visited the redoubt which he helped to storm, and thus he would be likely to master the details of the battle, while his profession as an engineer and his services as a soldier qualified him for the work of preparing a plan of the battle, which is con- sidered the most accurate of any published. The size of the original is 19x26. A view of the heights and hills is more fully represented on a sketch drawn in 1775. It is entitled "A View of Charlestown and the Back Ground as far as the Narrow Pass. Taken from Beacon Hill." On the right of the picture is Moulton Hill, which was near where Chelsea Bridge commences. Near this hill on a point, now a portion of the Navy Yard, the British army landed. " A PLAN OP BOSTON IN NEW ENGLAND WITH ITS ENVIRONS." This plan was made by Henry Pelham, the half brother of Copley, the painter. It was made under permission of J. Urquhart, town major, Aug. 28, 1775. It shows the lines about the town and the harbor. It was printed in two sheets and pub- lished in London, June 2, 1777, done in aquatinta by Francis Jukes. This copy is reproduced from the original in the Massachusetts Historical Society's library. 256 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. warren's house, 1775. Dr. Joseph Warren, in the latter part of 1770, leased a house belonging to Joshua Green, Mayor Green's great grandfather, which stood on Hanover street, about opposite the head of Elm street. The site is now occupied by the American House. A letter writ- ten by George Green to Joshua Green, under date of December 5th, 1770, says: "My mother has let out the house to one Dr. Warren, and boards with him, as she did not choose to move out of a place she has been so long used to. She reserves for herself the two front chambers, and keeps her maid and negro man." Dr. Warren's wife died in April, 1773, leaving four young chil- dren, but he continued to reside in Hanover street until he finally left Boston to give his whole and undivided attention to the pre- paration for the coming struggle. His important relations to the Provincial Congress and the Committee of Safety, no less than prudence regarding his personal welfare, demanded that he should remove himself from the domination of General Gage. WARRENS BIRTHPLACE. This house was built in 1720 by Joseph Warren, Gen. Warren's grandfather. It was situated on a farm, several acres in extent, which, after his death, a few years later, was cultivated carefully by his son Joseph. The "Warren Eusset" apple was a well known variety of fruit at that time. It was used as quarters for Col. David Brewer's regiment in the summer of 1775. Joseph was killed by a fall from one of his apple trees, Oct. 23, 1775. His widow, Mary Warren, mother of Gen. Warren, died here at the extreme age of ninety, in 1803. It was occupied by Samuel Warren, a younger brother of the General, until 1805, when, at his death, it came into the possession of Dr. John C. Warren. In 1846 the old house, being in ruins, was pulled down, and a hand- some stone house was built on the site by Dr. Warren, who in- tended it as a memorial not only of his uncle, the General, but of his father, John Warren, the first Professor of Anatomy at Har- vard University. Dr. Warren, dying in 1856, bequeathed the estate to the present owner, Dr. J. Collins Warren. This picture is taken from an engraving in his possession, made in 1840, and the above description is written by him. H X p] o w o o 2 o H > 21 w o Q PQ < W o h o I — I < AXTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 261 WASHINGTON ELM, CAMBRIDGE. On the meeting of the Second Continental Congress in Philadel- phia, May 10th, 1775, its most important duty was to appoint a commander-in-chief of the patriot forces. It was a task of great delicacy and difficulty. John Adams of Boston moved that the army then besieging Boston should be adopted by Congress as a Continental army, and he would propose for commander-in-chief of same a gentleman of Virginia who was there present. His re- marks were so pointed that all present percieved them to apply to Colonel Washington, who, upon hearing this reference to himself, retired from his seat and withdrew. When the ballot was taken it was found that Colonel Washington was unaniniousty elected. Before the election it had been voted to pay the General five hun- dred dollars a month for his expenses. On this point Washington said, " I beg leave to assure Congress that no pecuniary consider- ation could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness. I do not wish to make any profit from it. I will keep an exact account of my expenses. Those, I doubt not, you will discharge, and that is all I desire." This appointment was made two days before the battle of Bunker Hill. It then took a week to travel from Philadelphia to Boston by the quickest mode. Washington, in company with Generals Charles Lee and Philip Schuyler, hnniediately set out on horseback to join the army at Boston. They had scarcely pro- ceeded twenty miles before they met a courier with tidings of the great battle that had been fought. Washington eagerly asked for particulars, and when told that the militia had stood their ground bravely, exclaimed "The liberties of the country are safe." Under the ancient elm at Cambridge, yet standing, in the presence of the soldiers drawn up in line, and women and children from all parts of the country, he took formal command of the army, July 3, 1775. This majestic tree stands on Garden street, near the westerly corner of the Common, and may possibly have belonged to the primeval forest, and, if it could speak, would be an interesting chronicler of events. Within its shade the settlers erected their rude log houses, and here also was laid the foundation of Harvard College, the first educational establishment in New England. Not far from it was the spot where the public town meetings were held, and also the tree under which the Indian council-fires were lighted more than two centuries ago. 262 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE FORTIFICATIONS ON BOSTON NECK In the olden times, and for a long number of years after the settlement of Boston, there was only one carriage entrance to the town, and that was through Roxbury and over the Neck. By re- ferring to the Bonner map, in this work, it will be observed that by severing this connection Boston would be an island. One of the first cares of the early settlers was to take precaution against In- dian attacks. " We began a Court of Guard," says Wintkrop, under date of April 14th, 1631, "upon the Neck between Roxbury and Boston, whereupon there should be always resident an officer and six men." The gates of this primitive barrier, erected at the narrowest part of the Neck, where Dover street now is, and which had disappeared by the end of the century, were constantly guard- ed and were shut at a certain hour in the evening, after which none were allowed to pass in or out. In 1710, fortifications were con- structed, with foundations of brick and stone, upon the site of the old ones, having a parapet of earth, with embrasures for cannon on the front and flank and a deep ditch on the side next to Rox- bury. There were two gates, one for carriages and one for foot passengers. In Sept. 1774, affairs began to look serious and Gage, the royal governor, proceeded to strengthen the old and to erect new works in advance of them, digging a deep fosse into which the tide flowed at high water in front of the former, severing Boston for the time from the main land. While this work was going on the people, whose curiosity led them to watch its progress, would speak slightingly of it and say, " Gage's mud walls are nothing to old Louisburg, and, if necessary, would be no more regarded than a beaver's dam." The recollection of that remarkable achievement caused them to depreciate this comparatively slight barrier ; but the skill of Montresor, Gage's engineer, soon made it formidable enough to deter the Americans from attempting an assault, which could hardly have ended otherwise than in failure. The Dover street work was called the " Green Store Battery." the warehouse, then standing on the site of the William's Market, being of that color. Excavations just south of the market, in 1860, revealed the remains of this old fort. The position of the advanced work, which was much stronger, was between Dedham and Canton streets, a point from which the first unobstructed view, in front, is obtained as far as Roxbury. It mounted twenty guns of heavy calibre, besides six howitzers and a mortar battery. The redan was flanked by a i^a-/ BO ST ON in NEW ENGLAND wHStsEjrrmojrs. rtR RoxBURr Brookun CAMBRIDGE Medpord CHARXESTOWtf.PirUof Maiden andCHELSEA. Wfl&t&eMTLtr^/trWoRKS Co>i/lructti/in thofi P/ocei in flic Karsiffsam/q/f- A PLAN OF BOSTON IN NEW ENGLAND, WITH ITS ENVIRONS. «*4 , 3 *■* ' ' . I / "' J- J- ' ft ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 265 bastion on each side of the highway, from which the lines were continued across the marshes. The road passed through the centre of both lines, the first having a gate and drawbridge. A third and 7 © © © smaller work, lying between the others, on the eastern sea margin, bore on Dorchester Neck (South Boston) and took the left curtain and bastion of the main work in reverse. After the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, these works became of great strata- getic importance, and were the principal lines of defence during the siege of Boston. Just one month before the siege began a O © O committee of the Provincial Congress on the present state of the operations of the British army reported : " That two mud breast- works have been erected on Boston Neck at the distance of about 90 or 100 rods in front of the old fortifications, the works well constructed and well executed. The thickness of the merlons or parapet is about 9 feet, the height about 5 feet, the width of the ditch at the top about 12 feet, at the bottom 5 feet, the depth 10 feet. These works are already completed and at present mounted with 10 brass and 2 iron cannons. A barrack is erecting behind the breastwork on the N. side of the Neck." "The old fortifica- tion at the entrance of the town of Boston is repairing and greatly strengthened by the addition of timber and earth to the walls of the thickness of about 12 feet. These works are in considerable forwardness, and at present 10 pieces of iron cannon are mounted on the old platforms. A block-house, brought from Governor's Island, is erecting on the S. side of the Neck at the distance of about 40 or 50 rods from the old fortification. This work is but just begun." A plan of these works being desired at headquarters, John Trumbull, adjutant of Spencer's Connecticut regiment, (after- wards celebrated as an historical painter) undertook to obtain one. He says : "I began the attempt by creeping, under the conceal- ment of high grass, so nigh that I could ascertain that the work consisted of a curtain crossing the entrance to the town, flanked by two bastions, and I ascertained the number of guns mounted on the eastern bastion, when my further progress was rendered un- necessary by a deserter, who brought with him a rude plan of the entire work. My drawing was also shown to the General, and their correspondence proved that as far as I had gone I was cor- rect." This probably is the origin of the engraving here shown of "A View of the lines thrown up on Boston Neck by the Minis- 266 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. terial Army." The original from which this engraving was made is a small vignette on a map, called " A Plan of Boston and its environs, 1775. Dedicated to John Hancock, Esq., President of the Continential Congress. This map of the Seat of the Civil War in America is Respectfully inscribed, By his most Obedient and Humble Servant. B. Romans." J7 viewoftheLines t/irown u/i on BOSTON \KECM by t/ie Minifteriai ' Jlrrru/. 1. Bo/ton. 2, JfrJfarzcocJiZhoufe. 3, Ene/rufS camji onjfrtfitt. V. JJfockMu/e. &. GiumVwufe, 6.Ga£e §21nu?&rcdffe /.Beacon/till. The other two illustrations, " A Front View of the Lines, taken from the advanced posts near Brown's House," and a " View of the Country towards Dorchester, taken from the advanced works on Boston Neck," are both reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype Process, from J. F. W. Des Barre's Coast Charts, Published ac- cording to Act of Parliament May 30, 1776, for the use of the Army and Navy in North America, then operating in and around Boston. Enoch Brown's house and shop, of which mention is made here, was situated on the west side of the highway, between Blackstone square and Rutland street, deserves mention as the scene of the only hostile encounter that has ever taken place with- in the original limits of Boston. The following letter, from the American Camp at Roxbury, informs us that " on July 8, 1775, two hundred volunteers from the Rhode Island and Massachusetts forces, under Majors Tupper and Crane, attacked the British ad- vance guard at Brown's house on the Neck within three hundred yards of their principal works. They detached six men about ten o'clock in the evening with orders to cross on a marsh up to the rear of the guard-house and there to watch an opportunity to fire it. The remainder secreted themselves in the marsh on each side of the Neck, about two hundred yards from the house. Two brass pieces were drawn softly on the marsh within three hundred yards, and upon a signal from the advanced party of six, two rounds of cannon shot were fired through the guard-house. Immediately the regulars, who formed a guard of forty-five or fifty men, quitted the house and were fired upon by the musketry, who drove them with o o w r i— i w CO o w o CO H O W o ',•'■- St/ 3ti f7': $3 4; Ml* |* j| Will Jl tei I ";l a i , "l«: , - 1 , ,,'v ,!( ft ^ii iS itt§ llJii I'l/l.-i/'Wa 9 ill M O ^ "-3 X M O O C H O > r=d D d o XI G £ W w M ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 271 precipitation into their lines. The six men posted near the house set fire to it and hurned it to the ground. After this, they burnt another house nearer the lines, and withdrew without losing a man." An irregular warfare was kept up on the Neck from the 17th of June till Washington took command of the army. A band of Indians, from the Stockbridge tribe, caused the British considerable trouble of which they complained with reason of this mode of warfare. A British ofiicer writes, July 2, 1775, " Never had the British army so ungenerous an enemy to oppose ; they send their riflemen, five or six at a time, who conceal themselves behind trees, etc., till an opportunity presents itself of taking a shot at our advanced sentries, which done they immediately re- treat." On the 21st of June two of the Indians killed four of the regulars with their bows and arrows and plundered them. On the next day the British fired from their works and threw shells into Roxbury, this continued for several days, during which two Amer- icans were killed in attempting to set Brown's barn on fire, and the Indians killed more of the British guard. The Indians were not alone to blame in this desultory warfare. A large body of South- ern riflemen enlisted with great promptness, after the news of Lexington and Bunker Hill reached them ; they marched from four to six hundred miles. In a short time large bodies arrived in camp, attracting much attention with their picturesque costumes. They were dressed in white hunting shirts, ornamented with a fringe; round hats, on which appeared the motto " Liberty or Death ;" buckskin breeches, Indian moccasins and leggins, also or- namented with beads and brilliantly dyed porcupine quills ; and were tall, stout and hardy men, inured to frontier life. They were all armed with rifles, tomahawks and long knives, the latter worn in the wampum belt that confined the hunting shirt to the waist. At a review a company of them, at a quick advance, fired three balls into objects seven inches in diameter, at two hundred and forty yards. With them it was a disgrace to shoot game anywhere ex- cept in the head, and they inspired such terror in the British camp that they were there spoken of as shirt tail men, with their cursed twisted guns, the most fatal widow and orphan makers in the world. One of them taken prisoner was carried to England as a curiosity. After the siege, the works on the Neck were destroyed, in order that they might not be made available to the enemy should he again obtain possession of the town. Vestiges of them were visi- ble as late as 1822, particularly on the west side. 272 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. PLAN OF DORCHESTER NECK. This plan was drawn for the use of the British army in 1775, and is a copy of the plate published in ' ' Simonds' History of South Boston." It shows the works erected there at that time, by the American forces, with every house and tree on the peninsula. The names of the occupants of the houses were added by an aged member of the Blake family, who was born in 1776. On the 22d of Dec. 1775, Congress authorized Gen. Washington to attack the British troops in Boston, notwithstanding the town and property in it might be destroyed. Washington accordingly made active preperations for erecting redoubts on Dorchester Neck, a place which had long been considered as the most convenient point from which to dislodge the enemy. Washington was certain that the taking possession of Dorchester Heights would bring on a battle, and he intended to attack Boston at the same time on the Cam- bridge side. Four thousand chosen men were selected to attack Boston as soon as the attention of the British should be attracted to Dorchester Heights. On Monday night, March 4th, 1776, at about seven o'clock, two thousand men, under Gen. Thomas, marched across the causeway to Dorchester Heights. A covering party led the way, then followed the carts with entrenching tools, then twelve hundred soldiers under Gen. Thomas, and in the rear followed three hundred carts loaded with fascines and hay. The occasion was one of intense interest and excitement. The greatest silence was observed, no one being allowed to speak above a whisper. All exerted themselves to the utmost, and as by magic before daylight two forts of sufficient strength to be a good defence against grape shot and small arms were finished, and as the morning sun shone there was revealed to the British two fortifications that had no existence the evening before, and which had completely brought them into the power of their enemies. It was immediately decided by the Admiral of the British fleet that unless they were dislodged the vessels stationed in the harbor could not ride in safety, and it was also evident that the troops in Boston were now in a precarious situation. There were but two alternatives : either the town must be evacuated, or the Americans driven from the Heights. Gen. Howe could not for a moment think of quietly yielding the possession of the town, whose inhabitants had been the original cause of the war. Rely- ing on the superior strength of his army, he immediately decided p lan of Dorchester Neck. w D O X o h co O ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 275 to attack the entrenchments. lie ordered twenty-four hundred men, under the command of Earl Percy, to repair to Castle William, and at night to assail the new works. Thousands assembled upon the neighboring hills to see repeated the scenes of Bunker Hill. The American works were now very strong. A large number of barrels filled with stones and sand were placed on the brow of the hill to be rolled down as the columns advanced. At 12 o'clock, March 5th, the troops embarked for the Castle, but a violent gale arose which prevented them from reaching their destination. During the night and the following day the storm continued, and the rain poured in torrents. The wind was so boisterous and the surf so great that it would have proved fatal to have attempted to land. In the meantime the Americans had greatly strengthened their works, and Gen. Howe felt that the fortifications were too strong to be assaulted, and concluded to evacuate the town rather than to have his army cut to pieces. Gen. Howe threatened that if his troops were molested while leaving the harbor he would fire the town, and although there was no express negotiation, yet there was a tacit understanding that the British were to leave the harbor unmolested. On the ninth of March, Washington erected batteries on Leak and Bird's Hill, another at the Point and at Nook's Hill. This latter, from its proximity to the town, was of great importance, and Washington decided to fortify it, with a view of bringing the British completely under his power, and with the purpose of annoying the fleet if necessary. The British observing these operations opened a severe fire on Nook's Hill from their battery located on what is now Dover street. Four soldiers and a surgeon were killed, and the troops were compelled to suspend operations. Gen. Howe caused all the public stores that could not be taken away to be destroyed. Several sloops were sunk, and many can- non spiked. Early in the morning of March 17, Gen. Howe commenced the embarkation of his army. At nine o'clock a large number of troops and inhabitants left the wharves of Boston, which was observed ha the American camp. Gen. Ward, with five hun- dred men, immediately marched over the Neck into the town just as the last remnant of the British army and loyalists dropped down the harbor. With drums beating and flags flying, the victorious troops marched triumphantly through the streets, greeted on all sides by the inhabitants of the town with the greatest joy. 276 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. BOSTON LIGHT-HOUSE. Early in the last century the inhabitants of Boston agitated the subject of erecting a light-house at the entrance to their hai'bor, in consequence of the growth of their commerce. Accordingly, in 1715, an act was passed to " build a light-house on the southern- most point of the Great Brewsters, called Beacon Island, because there had been a great discouragement to navigation by the loss of the lives and estates of several of His Majesties subjects, and that after the building of the light-house and kindling a light in it, to be kept from sun setting to sun rising, that an impost shall be paid by the masters of all Ships and Vessels, coming in and going out of the harbor, except Coasters, the duty of One Penny per Ton, inwards, and One Penny per Ton, outwards, before they Load or Unload the Goods therein." The first light-house keeper was George Worthylake, a man familiar with every island in the harbor from childhood, having been brought up on the island where Port Warren now stands. At the time he became keeper of the light he had a farm on Lovell's Island, where he resided. He was paid fifty pounds for his service the first year, which amount was increased to seventy the second year, in consequence of the loss of fifty-nine sheep which were drowned in the winter of 1716, through want of his care during enforced absences in attending the light. Mr. Worthylake was unfortunately drowned, together with his wife Ann and their daugh- ter Ruth, off Noddle's Island, now East Boston, while on their way to town, and their remains now rest in Copp's Hill Cemetery. This incident was the orign of the ballad called the ' ' Light-house Tragedy," which Franklin says he was induced by his brother to write, print, and sell about the streets, and which he said " sold prodigiously though it was wretched stuff." The old light-house was much injured by fire in 1751, and was struck by lightning several times. During the revolution it was demolished and rebuilt by both the American and British forces, as the occasion arose to serve their ends thereby, as the following account from Frothingham's Siege of Boston will show : — A party under Maj. Vose of Heath's regiment, in whale boats, landed on Nantasket Point, before day, and set fire to the light- house. At daylight the men-of-war discovered them and fired upon them. An eye-witness says : "I ascended an eminence at ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 279 a distance, and saw the flames of the light-house ascending up to heaven like grateful incense, and the ships wasting their powder. He also brought from Nantasket a thousand bushels of barley and a quantity of hay. An armed schooner and several barges engaged the detachment, and wounded two of the Americans. Maj. Vose gained much credit for his success in this enterprise. The enemy commenced rebuilding the light-house, and July 31st, 1775, Maj. Tupper, with three hundred men, was detached with orders to disperse the working party. The enemy prepared to receive the Americans in a hostile manner. Maj. Tupper landed in good order on the island, marched up to the works, killed ten or twelve on the spot, and took the remainder prisoners. Having demolished the works, the party were ready to embark, but the tide leaving them, they were obliged to remain until its return. Meantime, a number of boats came up from the men-of-war, to reinforce those at the island, and a smart firing from both parties took place. A field piece, under Maj. Crane, planted on Nantasket Point to cover a retreat, sunk one of the boats, and killed several of the crew. Maj. Tupper brought his party off with the loss of only one man killed and two or three wounded. He killed and captured fifty- three of the enemy. "Washington the next day, in general orders, thanked Maj . Tupper, and the officers and soldiers under his com- mand, " for their gallant and soldier-like behavior." June 13th, 1776, the British fleet evacuated the harbor, and as they passed the light-house they sent their boats ashore and brought off a party of regulars, and blew up the light-house with powder, then the whole fleet made all sail they could and went to sea, steering their course for Halifax. This island was, therefore, the last spot occu- pied by a hostile force in Boston Harbor. The present light-house was erected in 1783, but has been refitted since then with improved apparatus. In 1860 the old tower was raised and now measures ninety-eight feet above the sea level. Its revolving light can be seen at a distance of sixteen nautical miles. The view in mezzotint of the first light-house built in America is from a mezzotint in the possession of the Light-house Board, Treasury Department, Washington. It was engraved by W. Burgis, who engraved a map of Boston, in 1729. The line engraving represents the second Boston light-house, and is reproduced from the " Massachusetts Magazine " for 1789. 280 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. BIRTHPLACE OF GENERAL KNOX. The parents of Knox were Scotch emigrants and came to Boston with the party that founded the Federal Street Church. The father of Knox was married in this church by Rev. Mr. Moorhead to Mary, daughter of Robert Campbell, Feb. 11, 1735 (O. S.) He was a ship master and the owner of a wharf and a small estate on Sea street. Henry, the seventh of ten sons, was born in this house, which was demolished last year (1881) on account of the extension of Essex street to Federal street, the street passing over BIRTHPLACE OF GENERAL KNOX. the site occupied by the house. Our engraving is copied from an old drawing and shows the house as it appeared in 1756. The cut was loaned to us through the kindness of A. Williams & Co., of the " Old Corner Book Store." Knox was present at the so called State Street Massacre, and took a prominent part in the demon- strations during the troublous times when the gathering storm of the Revolution loomed dark and threatening in the sky. At the age of twenty-one Knox began business on his own account, and we are informed by the " Gazette " of July 29, 1771, that : " Thie day is opened a new London Bookstore by Henry Knox, opposite Williams' Court, in Cornhill, Boston." Knox's store was a great ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 281 resort for British officers and Tory ladies, who were the ton at that period. At the age of eighteen Knox joined the "Boston Gren- adier Corps." The splendid uniform, military appearance, drill and efficiency of this corps gave it high renown and elicited the warm encomiums even of the British officers. By earnest study of mil- itary authors and by careful observation of the soldiery in Boston, he soon attained great proficiency in the theory and practice of the military art. Lieutenant Knox was an uncommonly good-looking officer, and while on parade attracted the attention of a young lady which soon ripened into mutual love and esteem, and resulted in a true and happy union. Her father, Thomas Flucker, Esq., a " high-toned loyalist of great family pretensions," and Secretary of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, was exceedingly averse to the match, as were, indeed, all of the young lady's aristocratic connections, who were loyalists. The marriage was announced in the " Gazette " of June 20, 1774. The young couple at once went to housekeeping, but their domestic enjoyment was rudely inter- rupted by the events of the 19th of April, 1775, and just one year from the day of his marriage Knox quitted Boston in disguise, (his departure being interdicted by Gage) accompanied by his wife, who had quilted into the lining of her cloak the sword with which her husband was to carve out a successful military career. Large promises had been held out to Knox to induce him to follow the royal standard, as it was thought to be of consequence to pre- vent so talented a young man from attaching himself to the pro- vincials. Repairing at once to the headquarters of Gen. Ward at Cambridge, he was actively engaged on reconnoirtering service on the memorable 17th of June, and upon his reports the general's orders were issued. After the battle, he lent his aid in planning and constructing works of defence for the various camps around the beleagured town. His greatest service perhaps, was the bring- ing of more than fifty cannon, mortars and howitzers from Ticon- deroga, Crown Point, etc., to the lines before Boston. This feat was accomplished early in 1776, the ordinance being dragged on sledges in midwinter through the wilderness. Gen. Knox rendered his country services of the utmost importance during the Revolu- tionary war, and it was greatly due to Knox's skill and activity in providing and forwarding heavy cannon for the siege of Yorktown, that compelled the surrender of Cornwallis which led to a termina- tion of the contest. On March 4, 1785, Knox was elected Secre- tary of War. He died Oct. 15, 1806, after an illness of a few days. 282 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. WASHINGTON TRIUMPHAL ARCH AND COLONNADE. On the occasion of the third visit of Washington to Boston he was given a grand public reception, October 24, 1789. A triumphal arch and colonnade were erected on Washington street in front of the Old State House, and from the latter he reviewed the passing throng by whom he was enthusiasticly welcomed and who in turn were gracefully saluted by him. The Triumphal Arch was designed by Mr. Charles Bulfinch and the Colonnade by Hon. Mr. Dawes. The arch was 18 feet high, composed of a central arch 14 feet wide, and one on each side of 7 feet, with an ionic pilaster and proper imposts between them. The frieze exhibited thirteen stars on a blue ground and a hand- some white cornice was carried to the height of the platform ; above was painted a balustrade of interlaced work, in the centre of which was an oval tablet with the following inscriptions, on one side, "To the Man who Unites all Hearts," and on the other, "To Columbia's Favorite Son." At the end of the State House was a panel decorated with a trophy, composed of the arms of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and our French Allies, crowned with a laurel wreath ; over these an inscrip- tion " Boston Believed March 17, 1776." Over the centre arch, a rich canopy of 20 feet in height was erected, with the American Eagle perched above. The Colonnade was erected at the west end of the State House, as shown at the right of our engraving. It was composed of six large columns, fifteen feet high, and a balustrade hung in front with Persian carpets, on which were wrought thirteen roses. The circle of the Colonnade measured forty-four feet, and projected boldly into the main street, so as to exhibit in a strong light ' ' the man of the people." Through the central west window of the State House, the President passed to the balustrade, descending from a platform four easy steps to the floor of the gallery, which was furnished with arm chairs and spread with rich carpets. On this platform was a pedestal, covered with green, supporting the figure of "Plenty." As soon as the President entered the Colonnade he was saluted with cheers, after which an Ode was sung by a select body of singers seated under the canopy on the arch. Our engraving was reproduced from the Mass. Magazine for January, 1790, and the order of "Procession" from a copy in the Public Library. > w X z Q O z r > o Procession. Bostcw, Oct.- 19; 1789. AS this town is shortly to be honoured with a visit from the PRESIDENT of the United States: In order that we may pay tmr respects to him, in a manner whereby every inhabitant may see so illustrious and amiable a character, and to prevent the disorder and danger which must ensue from a great assembly of people without order, a Committee appointed by a respectable number of in- habitants, met for the purpose, recommend to their Fellow-Citizens to arrange themselves in the following or- der, in a c I It is also recommended, that the person who shall be chosen as head of each order of Artizans, Trades- men, Manufacturers, &,c. shall be known by displaying a WHITE FLAG, with some device thereon expres- sive of their several callings, and to be numbered as in the arrangement that follows, which is alphabetically dis- posed, in order to give general satisfaction. — The Artizans, &c. to display such insignia of their craft, as they can conveniently carry in their hands. That uniformity may not be wanting, it is desired that the several Flag-staffs be SEVEN feet long, and the Flags a yard square. OKDEK OF PROCESSION Goldsmiths and Jewellers, - - • Hair-Dressers, Hatters and Furriers, House Carpenters, - Leather Dressers, and Leather Breeches ) Maker?, J Limners and Portrait Painters. Masons, ■---.■ Mast-makers, - Mathematical Tnstrument-maKers, Millers, ~ Painters, - Paper Stainejv, Pewterers, - Printers, fiook.binders and Stationers, Riggers, Rope-makers, .... Saddlers. - Sail-makers, - Shipwrights, to include Caulkers, Ship-joiners, j Head-builders and Sawyers, ( bugar-boilers, Tallow-Chandlers, &c. - Tanners. "• Taylors,. « Tin-plate Workers, ... Tobacconists, - Truckmen, . Turners,, - - •• * Upholsterers, - Wharfingers, - Wheelwrights, Seamen, N. B.— la the above arrangement, some trades are omitted — from the idea, that they would incorporate themselves with the branches mentioned, to which they are generally attached. For instance — it is supposed, that under the v head of Blaclcsmiths t the Armourers, Cutlers, "Whitesmiths and other workers in iron, would be included ; and the same with respect to other trades. JEach division of the above arrangement *9 requested to meet on such parade as it may agree on, and marcb into the Mall — No. 1 of the irtizans, &-c. forming at. the South-end thereof. The Marshalls will then direct in what manner the Procession will move to meet the President on his arrival in, town. When the front of the Procession arrives at the extremity of the town, it will halt, and the whole will then be-directed to open the column— one half of each rank moving to the right, and the other half to the left — and then face inwards, so a* to form an avenue through which the President is to pass, to the galeries to be erected at the State-House. Itjs requested that the several School-masters conduct their Scholars to the neighbourhood of the State-Housej and form them in such order as the Marshalls shall direct. Thi Marine Society is desired te appoint some person to arrange and accompany the seameH. MUSICK. The Selectmen, Overseers of the foot- Town Treasurer, Town Clerk, Magistrates, Consuls of France and Holland, The Officers of his Most-Christian Majesty's Squadron, The Rev. Clergy, Physicians, Lawyers, Merchants and Traders, Marine Society, Masters of Vessels, Revenue 'Officers, Strangers, who may wish to attend. Bakers, .... No. 1. Blacksmiths, &c. - No. 2. Block-makers,' .... No'. 3. Boat-builders, ... No. 4. Cabinet and Chair-makers, No. 5. Card-makers, .... No. 6. Carvers, .... No. r. Chaise and Coach-makers, No. 8. Clock and Watch-makers, No. 9. Coopers. .... No. 10. Coppersmiths, Braziers and Founders, No. 11. Cordwainers, &c. - No. 12. Distillers, .... No. 13. Duck Manufacturers, No. 14. Engravers, No. 15. Glaziers and Plumbers, No, 16. No. 17. No. IB. No. 19. No. 20. No. 1 21. No. 22. No. 23. No. 24. No. 25. No. 26. No. 27. No. 28» No. 29. No. 30. No. 31. No. 32. No, 33. No. 34, No. 35. No. 36. No. 37. No, 38. No. 39. No. 40. No. 41. No 42. No, 43. No 44. No 45. No 46. Corner of Washington, Winter and Summer Sts. Cjlkctum. <.■£& ^Pi vsp eehs-. vlotzor aa 3uv *- "'"iKtti5- •3Zzp. i "tahii&m&Bi. Pro sped des orofjmPlazar a en en der alien \ rwfde taS\ue^remde verj CCg&te 3 SudKircke der Tresb'derumer zu Bcutoix. 1 o£ud ^es Irej wnri&i a .glide on OJtCJl . «3tf' rtstsl a* • / lu-s*e*fi>fa aTTnufi &, kAs^Jvmu- J'tTmrm Jcr^rfr Z6a,-e o ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 299 king's chapel. The Episcopalians became permanently established in Boston in 1686. There were Episcopalians, such as Blackstone and others, seated at Shawmut and its neighborhood earlier than any other sects. They were, however, forced out of the country, aad it was not until 1664, when the Commissioners landed in Boston and demanded, in the king's name, that liberty should be given, to all who should desire it, to use the Book of Common Prayer, that the church service was performed in Boston without molestation. Even then, though protected by the King's Commissioner's, who had a Chaplain of that faith with them, no permanent footing was established, nor was there any church edifice for persons of that sect in the town. On the return of Mr. Randolph, one of the King's Commissioners, to Boston, there came with him Mr. Bobert Ratcliff, an Episcopal clergyman. The old government being the next day superseded, all persons residing in Boston friendly to the English church came forward, and thus a society of Episco- palians had its beginning in Boston. At first their meetings were held in private houses. At length application was made to the officers of the South church to be allowed to hold their meetings in the meeting-house of that society, proposing to accommodate their time of worship to the other society. This was anything but agreeable to the South society. Finding that such a privilege was not likely to be allowed, a com- mittee waited on the Council, who granted them the use of " the east end of ye Town-house, where ye Deputies used to meet, until those who desire his ministry (Mr. Ratcliff ) shall provide a fitter place." Hence it appears that the first regular meeting- place of the Episcopal society in Boston was in the Town-house. Such was the state of affairs of the Episcopalians on the arrival of the frigate Kingfisher, December 20, 1686, which brought over Sir Edmund Andros, the first royal governor, who, the next day after his arrival, applied for one of the meeting-houses in which to perform religious services. A committee waited on his excel- lency to remonstrate, but it availed nothing, for in the following March Gov. Andros sent a demand for the key of the South church, " that they may say prayers there," and two days later, March 25, the Episcopalians performed their services in the South church, and continued to occupy it till Andros was deposed, in 300 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON 1689. Before that event occurred, contributions were collected throughout the country to the amount of £256, contributed by ninety-six individuals, and a house was built at a cost of £284. How the society obtained the land on which the church was built has not been discovered, but it is not at all improbable that it was taken by Gov. Andros out of the common burial-place which was given to the town by Mr. Isaac Johnson. It was of wood, and stood upon part of the ground now occupied by the present edifice, at the north-east corner of Tremont and School streets. Our drawing of it was made from a south-east view of Boston, published by ffm, Price in 1720. It gives also a good view of THE FIRST KING'S CHAPEL. Beacon Hill with the beacon on top of it. There were no pews in the church up to 1693. In that year the officers of Sir Francis Wheeler's fleet, which put into Boston to recruit, made up a dona- tion for the church amounting to fifty-six pounds. The next year HI z Q CO o > ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 303 the pews were built at an expense of eighty-five pounds In 1689 it was provided with a bell. Between 1710 and 1713 the old church was rebuilt and enlarged to twice its original size. Mr. Thomas Brattle gave an organ when it was finished. This, no doubt, was the first organ in Boston. A clock was given in 1744. No account of the dedication of the first church has been found, but the first meeting in it is fixed upon June 50, 1687. The The second building stood until April 2, 1753, when it was taken down, and the corner stone of the present building was laid by Governor Shirley. The building was completed and opened for divine service August 21, 1754. It cost to build £7405 sterling. It has not since undergone any essential alteration in its exterior appearance. Our engraving of it is as it appears at the time of writing, 1882. At the time of the Eevolutionary war, in 1776, the society was broken up ; many of its important supporters were loyalists, who fled from Boston, and with them their minister, Rev. Dr. Caner. In retaliation for what had been done by Andros, and later by the king's troops in using the South meeting-house for a riding-school, the King's Chapel was taken possession of by that society and occupied by them for a period of nearly five years, when it was again occupied by the Episcopal society, and its name changed to Stone Chapel, in conformity with other changes which grew out of a hatred to kingly authority. On the accession of Queen Ann it was called by some Queen's Chapel. It is now generally known by its old name of King's Chapel. In 1785, the society, in con- sequence of the doctrinal changes of its own minister, adopted a modified form of the English liturgy in place of the original, ex- cluding all acknowledgement of the Trinity, and thus Unitarian- ism, as it was at length called, became a substantial reality in Boston. This society for many years remained the only one of any note in New England which was confessedly Unitarian. 304 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. FEDERAL STREET CHURCH. In 1720, and for several years following, many Scotch Presby terians came to New England. Among them was Archibald Stark, the father of General John Stark, a graduate of the University of Glasgow. The vessel on which he came contained many cases of small pox, and the party was not allowed, on that account, to land in Boston. They then went to Sheepscott, Maine, and afterwards settled at a place in New Hampshire they called " Londonderry," because many of them had lived in and about Londonderry in Ire- land for sometime previous to their leaving that country, with which they were not pleased. A large number of these Scotch Presbyterians, at the head of whom was the Rev. John Moorhead, settled in Boston, and although they were a good acquisition to this place, being industrious and orderly, and in time introduced several arts and improvements among the people, yet they at first met with a cold reception, being viewed as inferiors and intruders. These emigrants purchased a lot of ground at the corner of Berry street and Long Lane, and converted a barn which stood on the ground into a meeting-house. This was in 1729, and this humble edifice served them for a place of worship until 1744 ; al- though, in the mean time, two small additions in the shape of wings were added to it. In the year last mentioned, a substantial and convenient church was built, after the fashion of the churches of that time (as represented by the engraving annexed), and with that old church there is much of interest associated. It was with- in its walls that delegates met in convention to decide whether Massachusetts should accept the Federal Constitution proposed for the United States ; and it was here that it was finally accepted, on the seventh of February, 1788. It was owing to this circum- stance that the name of Long Lane was changed to that of Federal street. The old or second house was of wood, the tower fronting on Federal street. This was succeeded by a Gothic structure, which was completed, on the site of the old one, in the course of 1809. FEDERAL STREET CHURCH. ANTIQUE VIEW'S OF BOSTON. 307 The Rev. Daniel Annan was the next Pastor after Mr. Moorhead. He was installed in 1783, and was dismissed at his own request, by the Presbytery, in 1786, and was afterward settled over a church in Philadelphia. In the period succeeding the death of Mr. Moor- head and the settlement of Mr. Annan, occurred the war of the Revolution, during which regular preaching was interrupted. After the evacuation of the town by the British, in March, 1776, the Rev. Andrew Croswell was employed to preach to the society. In 1787, Dr. Jeremy Belknap was installed over this church, he hav- ing taken a dismission from a parish in Dover, New Hampshire, for that purpose. He was an eminent scholar and historian. Be- fore the settlement of this gentleman, but not at his instance, or with any view of inviting him in particular, the society which had become reduced to a small number had relinquished the Presby- terian regimen and embraced the Congregational order, with a ten- dency towards Unitarianism. Dr. Belknap died suddenly on the twentieth of June, 1798, aged fifty-four. He was succeeded by Rev. John Snelling Popkin, D. D., who, in 1802, being appointed to the Greek professorship in Harvard college, was succeeded by Rev. William Ellery Channing, D. D., who was ordained June first, 1803. There was a sufficient depth of water near the meeting-house for smelts to be taken. Shaw cites Dr. Channing as saying he had taken these fish at the corner of Federal and Milk streets, and another authority as having seen three feet of water in Federal street. The name of Beny, or Bury street, as it was called in ancient orthography, was changed to that of Channing, its present name, in honor of him. The Rev. Ezra Stiles Gannett was ordained there in 1824, and was killed in the terrible railroad accident at Revere, in 1871. The building erected in 1809, which succeeded the one shown in our engraving, was an elegant house, designed by Charles Bulfinch, and was, when built, the only specimen of pure Gothic architecture in Boston. In 1859, it was taken down to give way to the demands of business, and the present handsome structure on Arlington street was subsequently erected in its stead, and is now known as the Arlington Street Church (Unitarian) . The present pastor is J. F. W. Ware. Our reproduction of the church built in 1744 is from the Poly- anthus Magazine for October, 1812. It is an excellent reproduction of the original. 308 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. THE OLD SOUTH CHUECH. The historical associations surrounding the Old South, at the corner of Milk and Washington streets, make it one ot the most interesting of all the links that remain to connect Boston of the past with Boston of the present. The Old South society was or- ganized in 1669, and the "meeting house" was built soon after- ward on a piece of land given by the widow of Eev. John Norton. In 1729 the original meeting house, which was of wood, was taken down, and the present brick structure was built on the same spot. Sir Edmund Andros, on his arrival in Boston in 1686, demanded the keys of the Old South and ordered that the bell be rung ' ' for those of the Church of England." This was very galling to the society, but they were permitted, by a strange revolution of the wheels of time, to turn the tables. On the evacuation of Boston by the British, the rector of King's chapel and his congregation joined in the hegira. The Old South had been used as a riding school by General Burgoyne's regiment during their possession of Boston and it was in such a condition that the society decided to worship in King's chapel, which they did in the autumn of 1777, continuing to worship there for five years. Judge Samuel Sewall, Chief Justice of the Colony, who was one of the judges during the witchcraft trials of 1692, was a mem- ber of the Old South. He afterward arose in the church and ex- pressed deep contrition for his share in the wretched business. Here Lovell, Warren, Church and Hancock delivered their ora- tions on the anniversary of the State Street Massacre. Benjamin Franklin was baptised in the old wooden church and there wor- shiped. The famous tea party meeting adjoui'ned from Faneuil Hall to the Old South, the former being too small to accommodate the assemblage. Washington stood in the gallery of this church alter the evacua- tion and looked down upon the ruin wrought by the riding school. The old building had two narrow escapes from fire. Many years ago it was saved by the superhuman efforts on the part of Isaac Harris, the mast-maker, who ascended to the roof while it was on fire and succeeded in extinguishing the flames Eor this brave act he received a silver pitcher. During the great fire of November 9 and 10, 1872, that reduced the greater portion of the business section of the city to ashes, it had another very narrow escape. OLD SOUTH CHURCH. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 311 The fire was fought resolutely at this spot and the Old South stop- ped its further progress in that direction. The building caught in several places, but the fire was extinguished before doing much harm to it. The Old South society arose from a schism in the First Church, and, like it, originated in Charlestown. Directly over the main entrance a tablet bearing the following inscription was placed in 1867: Old South. Church Gathered, 1669. First House Euilt, 1670. This House Erected, 1729. Desecrated by British Troops, 1775-6. Again, within five years after this tablet was placed there the wheels of time turned the tables and the Old South was desecrated (that is, if this term is not a misnomer, for the place was never consecrated,) and this too by the consent of the society that wor- shiped there, who had been seeking for an opportunity of dis- posing of the old edifice without offending public sentiment, and I luilding a modern church in the more fashonable neighborhood of the Back Bay district. This opportunity arrived after the great fire of 1872, when the society leased it to the government to be used for a post office, and as was to be expected, after it ceased to be used for that purpose the building and land were sold, the build- ing to be torn down immediately. Work was commenced on its destruction. The clock, that thousands of eyes had looked up to every day for so many years past, was removed. The public was aroused ; meetings were held for its preservation ; the people were addressed by the leading citizens of Boston. The danger to the old building was greater than it ever had been from the British or the two fires from which it escaped destruction. A society of ladies was organized for its preservation. They have since occupied it as a museum of Revolutionary antiquities, and it is open daily to the public on payment of a small admission fee. It is a question, how- ever, whether funds enough can be raised to save this historic monument of the past, for it is encumbered with a heav} r mortgage and the land is very valuable for business purposes. Our engrav- ing was reproduced from Gleason's Pictorial of 1853, the first illustrated paper published in this country. 312 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. CHRIST CHURCH, SALEM STREET. This was the second Episcopal Church erected in Boston and is the oldest in the City standing on its original ground, having been erected in 1723, six years before the Old South. It is a brick edi- fice and has long been known as the " North End Church" and in its day was considered one of the chief architectural ornaments of the North End. The old steeple was blown down in the great gale of 1804, falling upon an old wooden building at the corner of Tileston Street, through which it crashed to the consternation of the tenants, who, however, escaped injury. The steeple was re- placed from a design by Charles Bulfinch which carefully preserved the proportions of the original. The height of the steeple is 175 feet, and the aggregate weight of the chime of eight bells in it 7,272 pounds ; the smallest weighing 620 pounds, and the largest 1,545. These bells bear the following inscriptions : — First bell : ' ' This peal of 8 Bells is the gift of a number of generous persons to Christ Church, in Boston, N. E., anno 1744, A. E." Second: " This church was founded in the year 1723. Timothy Cutler, D. D., the first rector, A. E., 1744." Third: ' ' We are the first ring of Bells cast for the British Empire in North America, A. E., 1744." Fourth: '-God preserve the Church of England, 1744." Fifth : " William Shirley, Esq., Gov- ernor of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, anno 1744." Sixth : ' ' The subscription for these Bells was begun by John Hammock and Eobert Temple, church wardens, anno 1743; com- pleted by Eobert Jenkins and John Gould, church wardens, anno 1744." Seventh: "Since Generosity hath opened our mouths, our tongues shall ring aloud its praise 1744." Eighth: Abel Eudhall, of Gloucester, cast us all, anno 1744. This chime brought from England, is the oldest in America. The Bible, prayer books and silver now in use were given in 1733, by King George II. The figures of Cherubim in front of the organ, and the chandeliers, were taken from a French vessel by the privateer " Queen of Hungary," and presented to the church in 1746. The Sunday school was established in 1815, when no other was known to exist. The interior of the church retains much of its antique appearence. A tablet was placed on the &BGBAYKD fQA TI& MtTQB.1 Of SOjroM CHRIST CHURCH. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 315 front of the church in 1878, bearing the following inscription : The Signal Lanterns of t Paul Revere Displayed in the steeple of this church April 1775 Warned the country of the march of the British troops to Lexington and Concoid. General Gage, it is said, witnessed from Christ Church steeple the burning of Charlestown and battle of Bunker Hill. Interments were made under the Church soon after its erection. It is related that Major Pitcairn, of the British Marines, who led the troops to Concord and was repulsed, and who afterwards fell mortally wounded in the battle of Bunker Hill, was taken after the last named battle to a house in Prince Street, where the gas- ometer now stands, and after death was temporarily deposited under Christ Church, and afterwards carried to England for burial. During the seige of Boston, in the war of the revolution, it was frequently used for the burial of British officers. About fifty years ago a body was exhumed in the north-east corner of the cemetery, curiously preserved by embalming, and with it were found ever- greens. This body had then laid there eighty or more years ; and was originally encased in two caskets, each covered with coarse linen cloth impregnated with a protective gum. Mr. Thomas, whose remains were thus discovered, had died in Bermuda and been brought here for burial. With the exception of the thirty- three tombs and the heating apparatus of the church, nothing is to be seen within this enclosure, made sacred by the burial of many of the worthy old residents of the north-end. Our engraving was reproduced by the Photo-Electrotvpe Engraving process from a cut in Shaw's History of Boston 1817 . 316 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. NEW SOUTH CHURCH. CHURCH GREEN. The name of Church Green was applied very early to the vacant space lying at the junction of Bedford and Summer streets, from which we may infer that it was looked upon as a proper site tor a meeting-house by the earliest settlers of Boston. The land was granted by the town to a number of petitioners in 1715. Samuel Adams, father of the patriot, was one. There was not a more beautiful site for a church in Boston. The ground was high and level, the old church having an unobstructed outlook over the harbor. Samuel Checkley was the first pastor, ordained in 1718. Our engraving represents the church as rebuilt in 1814. The originators of the movement for the new church held their first meeting at the Old Bull Tavern, at the corner of Summer and Sea streets. The building was of granite from the Chelmsford quar- ries, near the Merrimac River, and was brought through the Mid- dlesex Canal. The body of the building was in shape of an octa- gon, forming a square of seventy-six feet in diameter, four sides being forty-seven feet, and four smaller twenty feet each. The height was thirty-four feet. The porch was of the same extent as one of the sides, and advanced sixteen feet, in front of which was a portico of four fluted columns of Grecian doric. The portico was crowned with a pediment, surrounded by plain attic. A tower rose from the centre of the attic, which included the belfry. The entire height was one hundred and ninety feet, including the spire. The architect was Charles Bulfinch who planned many buildings in Boston, and was also employed by President Monroe in super- intending the erection of the public buildings at Washington. In 1868 it was demolished, and the temples of traffic have arisen in its stead. Fifty years gone by, Summer street was, beyond doubt, the most beautiful avenue in Boston. Magnificent trees then skirted its entire length, overarching the driveway with interlacing branches, so that you walked or rode as within a grove, in a light softened by the leafy screen, and over the shadows of the big elms lying across the pavement. The palaces of trade now rear their splendid fronts where stood the gardens or mansions of the old merchants or statesmen of Boston. Our engraving was reproduced from the American Magazine, July, 1835, by the Photo-Electro- type Process, and is considered a very fine view of the structure before its demolition. NEW SOUTH CHURCH. TRINITY CHURCH. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 321 TRINITY CHUHCH. The first building, which occupied nearly the same site as the second, was consecrated in 1735. It was of wood, and its exter- nal appearance had little the resemblance of a place of worship, being without portico, belfry, or the smallest external ornament. Its size and materials made it an object of dread for a long period of time to not a few of the inhabitants, in contemplation of its des- truction by fire. It may be considered as almost miraculous that, standing in the midst of a populous city, it should have escaped for nearly a century the ravages of the devouring element, and at OLD TRINITY CHURCH. length should be taken down by the same means by which it was erected, and for placing in its room a building in every point its contrast This second building was built of rough blocks of granite, and was considered to be one of the most substantial and best fire-proof buildings in the country, and yet it was swept away, as it were, in an instant, in the great fire of Nov. 9th, 1872. The reader by referring to the accompanying prints, which were re- produced from the American Magazine for September, 1834, will 322 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. have a correct idea of both buildings. Notwithstanding; the mean external appearance of the old church, it was the most highly ornamented one in the interior of any in the country. The build- ing was ninety feet long and sixty broad. There were three en- trances in front unprotected by porches. The interior was com- posed of an arch resting upon Corinthian pillars with handsomely carved gilded capitals. In the chancel were some paintings, con- sidered very beautiful in their day. The corner stone was laid by the Rev. Roger Price of King's Chapel, April 15, 1734. In 1740, Eev. Addington Davenport, assistant minister of King's Chapel, was chosen the first minister. In 1741, Peter Faneuil offered £100 towards buying an organ. In 1742, Gov. Shirley presented the church with communion plate, table cloths and books. An organ was procured in 1744. When General Wash- ington visited Boston in 1789, he went to hear Doctor (afterwards Bishop) Parker preach in Trinity church. In 1828, it was voted to take down the old building and erect a new stone church. The corner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies by the rector, Eev. John S. J. Gardner, November 11, 1829. Trinity church occupied the site of the old Pleiades or " Seven-Star Inn," on the west corner of Summer and Hawley streets. From this noted inn Summer street took its ancient name of Seven-Star Lane. After the second church was burnt in the great fire of 1872, a new building was erected at the junction of Huntington Ave- nue, Boylston and Clarendon streets. It is the finest church edi- fice in New England, if not in the United States. X o r r >— i w en H W W H O G o ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 325 HOLLIS STREET CHURCH. The Unitarians in 1788, from designs furnished by Charles Bulfinch, erected the old " Hollis Street Church," as it was long and familarly known. The original name of Hollis street was Harvard. Street and church were named for Thomas Hollis, an eminent London Mer- chant, and benefactor of Harvard College. The growth of this part of Boston, by 1730- called for a place of worship nearer than Summer Street. Governor Belcher who resided in that vicinity, gave the site, and a small wooden meeting house, thirty by forty feet, was erected in 1732. The first minister was Rev. Mather Byles, who had a great local reputation as a punster. A nephew of Thos. Hollis gave the church a bell weighing 800 pounds, and it began the joyful peal on the morning of the 19th. of May, 1766, as nearest Liberty Tree, and was answered by Christ Church from the other extremity of the town, announcing the Stamp Act Re- peal. The steeples were hung with flags, and Liberty Tree dec- orated with banners. The following humorous allusion to Dr. Byles, is copied from a poem of thirty-seven stanzas, descriptive of the Boston clergy published about 1774. " There's punning Byles provokes our smiles, A man of stately parts ; Who visits folks to crack his jokes, That never mend their hearts. " With strutting gait and wig so great He walks along the streets, And throws out wit, or what's like it, To every one he meets " The church was destroyed by the great fire of 1787, but the society nothing daunted, reared the wooden edifice of which we present an engraving; reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype process, from the Massachusetts Magazine for 1793. It was a frame edifice 72 by 60 feet and was surmounted by towers. In 1810 it was removed, to give place to the present structure, and was floated on a raft down the harbor to East Braintree, where Rev. Jonas Perkins preached in it forty-seven years. It is now used as a school house and both steeples have been removed. 326 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. BRATTLE STREET CHURCH. The first movement that resulted in the formation of the Brattle Street Church, occurred in 1697, when Thomas Brattle gave the land, on which the church was afterwards built, to Thomas Clark and others, for this purpose. It was built of wood and was finished in 1699. It had a tower and bell on the west end. The door was on the south side of the church, opposite which was the pulpit, which contained an hour glass enclosed in a glass frame. It was known at that time as the " Manifesto Church," in consequence of a declaration of principles by it, in answer to a protest from the older churches against its more liberal form of worship. This building was rebuilt of brick in 1773. Our engraving; of it was reproduced from " Gleason's Pictorial "of 1854, and represents the building as it appeared at the time of its demolition in 1872. The first movement towards the erection of this structure was by John Hancock, in the year 1772, who was ever a liberal member and benefactor of this society. The house cost £8000 of which Hancock gave one-eighth part. Bowdoin gave £200, and offered to the society a piece of land on the corner of Tremont and Har- vard streets, a beautiful spot, on which to erect the house, which offer it is thought the parish unwisely rejected. Hancock also gave a bell, on which was inscribed " I to the Church the living call And to the grave summon all." This was the church of Colman, the Coopers, Thatcher, Buck- minster, Edward Everett, Palfrey and Lothrop, an array of cleri- cal talent unsurpassed in the Boston pulpit. General Gage quar- tered the 29th in the church and vicinity, taking up his own quar- ters in the house opposite. Gage told Mr. Turell that he had no fears for his men while quartered within such walls. Nevertheless, the night before the evacuation a twenty-four pound shot from Cambridge struck the tower, and falling to the ground was picked up by Mr. Turell, and in 1824 was imbeded in the masonry, where it remained until the work of demolition began. When the soci- ety sold the church they reserved the ancient quoins, pulpit, bell and cannon ball. BRATTLE STREET CHURCH. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 329 FEDERAL STEEET CATHEDRAL (ROMAN CATHOLIC) . Under the strict rule of the Puritans, Catholics were prohibited from entering the colony under pain of death. If a Jesuit, how- ever, should be shipwrecked on these shores, in such a case he would not be hung. This law was made in 1647. Even under these oppressive laws, the Jesuit priests entered New England, from Canada, and established missions among the Indians on the Kennebeck and Penobscot rivers. The most prominent among these early missionaries was Sebastian Rale. The reverence of the French and Indians for him occasioned the bitter hatred of the Puritans, and a reward was offered for his head. Captain Hilton was sent against him at Noridgewock and the village reduced to a heap of ruins. Again, in 1724, the village was attacked and de- stroyed during the absence of the braves, and the heroic missionary was riddled with small shot and hacked to pieces. The war of 1745, which desolated what is now Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, gave a death blow to the Catholic establishments in Maine. During this war a hundred pounds was offered for the scalp of any male Indian over twelve years of age, and fifty pounds for the scalp of any woman or child. This nearly exterminated the Indians, and what few were left sought shelter in Canada. The missions of Maine thus became deserted, and the fall of Quebec seemed to forebode still greater difficulties and danger. It was nearly one hundred and fifty years after the settlement of Boston before any Catholic immigrants voluntarily came here. About 1650, and for some years after, many Irish Catholics were sent to Boston and sold to any of the inhabitants who were in want of slaves. These were probably the first Catholics in Bos- ton. In 1756, Colonel Winslow and Captain Malley of New Eng- land, by order of the government, ruthlessly tore away from their homes fifteen thousand Arcadians or French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, ailer burning their villages and farm houses and plundering them of everything. Many of these people were left in Boston and other parts of New England, and were reduced to a state of slavery. As the penal laws deprived these Catholics of all relig- ious instruction, their children grew up Protestants. With the Revolution, however, a change came. Washington had scarcely appeared in the camp at Boston, when he found preparations on foot for burning the Pope in effigy. He informed the people ' ' That 330 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. he had been appraised of a design of observing that foolish a ad childish custom, and expressed his surprise that there should be officers and soldiers in the army so void of common sense as not to see the impropriety of such a step at such a juncture, when we are soliciting and seeking the friendship and alliance of the people of Canada and France ; and'under such circumstances to be insulting their religion is monstrous." When the Revolutionary war terminated, there were in Boston a few Frenchmen and Spaniards and about thirty Irishmen, among whom a clergyman, who had been a chaplain in the French navy, resolved to settle. They assembled for worship in what was form- FRANKLIN STREET CATHEDRAL. erly the French Protestant church on School street, erected by the Huguenots, many of whom came to Boston in 1686, after the re- vocation of the Edict of Nantes and the Massacre of St. Bartholo- mew. Few of those that established this church could have thought that a branch of that power, from which they had fled their native land upon pain of death, would so soon nourish on a spot which they had chosen for a place of refuge. Mass was per- formed in it for the first time on Nov. 2, 1788. In 1799, as the lease of this structure had nearly expired and their numbers had greatly increased, it was decided to purchase a site and erect a ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 331 church. The Protestants generously contributed to build this edifice, which their fathers would not have tolerated for a moment. It was built on Franklin street, on the site of what is now known as Cathedral Building, and was dedicated September 29, 1803, and called the Church of the Holy Cross. This was the first Catholic church erected in Boston. In 1810, Boston was erected into an Episcopal See. In 1827, the Cathedral was enlarged for the ac- commodation of the congregation and school, which had greatly increased. Our engraving shows it as it appeared after these im- provements. It was reproduced from a work entitled " Sketches of the establishment of the Church in New England," and is a cor- rect view of it as it appeared before its destruction in 1860, which was occasioned by the greatly enhanced value of the land and the movement of population to other parts of the city. A massive and lofty temple now rears its huge bulk on the Neck, mainly founded on the price of the Franklin street Cathedral. SHIP BUILDING IN SOUTH BOSTON IN 1820 , VIEW FROM LEEK HILL. Ship building was commenced in South Boston about the close of the war of 1812 by Messrs. Lincoln & Wheelwright under the superintendence of Mr. Samuel Kent, at the foot of Leek Hill, on which there formerly was a three gun battery. This view is from a water-color drawing in the Boston Museum, painted by J. Kidder, 1820. Leek Hill has been long since levelled. The site of the ship-yard is between Dorchester street and F street. The building on the left was Mr. Kent's residence and is still standing. The factory building near the water front is the first iron foundry built in New England. In the distance can be seen Nook Hill, where several American soldiers were killed during the siege of Boston from cannon fired by the British from Boston Neck. Pirates were formerly executed here. Near the hill is Caines' glass house, the first successful flint glass manufactory in the Atlantic States. 332 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. RUINS OF THE TJRSULINE CONTENT. After the establishment of the Roman Catholic church in Boston, the Ursuline Sisters opened a convent, which at first was a very small affair, but in 1826 they removed to a place in Charlestown, which they named " Mount Benedict." It is now a part of Som- merville. This new, ornate and valuable educational establishment, which was erected on the summit of the mount, was reached by a gradual ascent from the Boston side, and from which a beautiful view was obtained of the city, with its State House and dome towering above all other buildings, and its capacious harbor, islands, fortifications and shipping. Between lies Charlestown, with the tall obelisk marking the battle ground of Bunker Hill. A little to the left, from the same position, the towns of Chelsea, Maiden, Medford and Cambridge, with the verdant fields and highly culti- vated country lying between them. Then, toward the south, the towns of Dorchester, Roxbury and Brobkline, backed by the beau- tiful Blue Hills. A large garden tastefully arranged, and beauti- ful lawns shaded with select forest trees, through which led ex- tended gravel walks, surrounded the building. Nothing could equal the beauty of this interesting spot when the buildings were destroyed by the hands of a ruthless mob, on the 11th of August, 1834. The excitement that led to this outrage was owing to vague reports of improper conduct in the convent, and of the confine- ment of some females by threats and force when they were desirous of leaving it. It was confidently asserted by respectable men that such was the fact. But such a report could afford no justification to the outrage committed. The persons engaged in the transac- tion should have been certain the reports were well founded, and even in that case their open violation of law and authority could not be justified, as long as sufficient remedy could be obtained by due course of law. Under the influence of the excited feelings of the people, the convent was broken into about midnight, the furni- ture broken and destroyed, as well as the fences adjoining the con- vent. Before firing the building, warning was giver (he inmates to retire, and search was made in the house to see if any remained before the fire was put to it. The building was totally destroyed, only the walls remaining, as shown in our engraving, made for the American Magazine, 1834. Several persons were arrested as par- ticipants in this work of destruction, who were tried and acquitted, as it was impossible to obtain full and direct proof against them. a w O H w a f »— i s; w o o <: w iiKf X o c w H O 2. D G W H 5d k! > % D O cj w W o O o » w o H t— I O 2 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 337 HOUSE OF INDUSTRY AND HOUSE OF CORRECTION, SOUTH BOSTON. No great city like Boston is ever without want, misery or crime. Grimly this trio stalk beside the silks, satins and broadcloths of the rich, making themselves known ; but the charity of the world is cold, and a public provision for this class has here, as well as in other cities, been found necessary. The establishment of the House of Correction was authorized by a vote of the town on the 7th of May, 1821. It was designed for the restraint and employment of the idle and vicious poor, for habitual drunkards, beggars and those condemned for petty offences in the inferior courts of justice. The House of Correction, at South Boston, is an elaborate in- stitution, thoroughly equipped, and has a steam-engine of twenty- horse power in its workshop. "The House of Industry is destined for the comfort, support and relief, and, as far as they are competent, for the employment of the virtuous poor, and of those alone who are reduced to seek this refuge from misfortune, or age, or infancy." This institution is now located at Deer Island, and the average number of inmates for the past year has been 580 ; the largest number being 681 and the smallest number 469. These two buildings are of exactly the same architectural design, are built of coarse rough granite, and are respectively 220 feet long, 343 feet wide and 29 feet high. The institutions of the city have ever been regarded with just pride by the citizens, and have been the models after which other municipalities have reared, it may be, more elaborate and costly institutions, but none that have more fully and creditably fulfilled the mission for which they have been established. The accompanying engraving, and also the Alms-house in Bos- ton, was reproduced from Snow's History of Boston, and are ex- cellent reproductions. The city of Boston is faintly indicated in the background. 338 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. ALMS-HOUSES EN BOSTON. The first alms-house was erected on Beacon street, in 1662. It was burned in 1682, measures being immediately taken to rebuild it. It was a two story brick, with a gable roof, fronting on Bea- con street, and was of an L shape. It was not found adequate to fill the demands put upon it for a prison and a home for the poor, aged or infirm, and in 1712 measures were taken to build a Bride- well. This was erected in Park street, in what year does not ap- pear, but it is shown on the map of 1722. The alms-house be- came, in lapse of years, totally inadequate to its purpose, but no remedy was applied to these evils until 1801, when the building, of which we here present an engraving, was erected on Leverett street. During the Revolutionary war the inmates frequently suf- fered for the necessaries of life, and appear at all times to have largely depended on the charity of the townspeople. The alms- house was occupied by British wounded after the battle of Bunker Hill. It was erected on the bank of the river, from which a wharf, now forming the site of the old Lowell depot, extends. The new alms-house, as it was called, was a brick building of three stories, with a central structure from which wings extended. The central building was considerably higher than the rest, and had lofty, arched windows, with a raised pediment relieved by or- namental work; on either gable stood a carved emblematic figure. The whole edifice was 275 feet in length by 56 in depth. It stood until May, 1825, when it was superseded by the House of Industry at South Boston, and the land sold to private individuals, A brick wall with iron gates surrounded the alms-house enclosure. It has always been the fate of some who have known better days to become dependants upon the public charity. One notable in- stance is mentioned of the daughter of a clergyman of the French Protestant church having sought and obtained an asylum in the Old Almshouse. She continued to visit and be received into the houses of her former friends, who, with intuitive delicacy, forebore to question her on the subject of her residence. The site of this building was occupied by the residence of no less a person than the first settler of Boston, William Blackstone. The point at which Cragie's bridge commences is called on the ancient plans of the town Barton's Point, and in our earliest history it is spoken of as Blackstone Point. The whole of the peninsula of Boston was for a time known as Blackstone Neck. F 3 E3 k P *3 5 «^ *3 >— ( o < o Q Mill 'ft J H! * I: ! * $MM f - ■II lii -1l! i ; Millfc'!' |il!| rlvlMnii-Jl ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 343 MYSTIC KIVER BRIDGE. This important work was commenced in April, 1787, and was opened for passengers in September of the same year. It cost about £5300, The master workmen were Messrs Lemuel Cox and Jonathan Thompson. Two strong abutments were on each side of the river about 300 feet from high water mark. The bridge stood upon one hundred piers, each composed of six sticks of oak timber, firmly imbedded in the bottom, and strength- ened by two solid wharves, The length of the bridge was 2005 feet, exclusive of the abutments ; its width was 32 feet, and in the deepest water, was a convenient draw, raised by a purchase. There was a neat plain railing on each side and eight lamps for the convenience and safety of passengers at night, The property was vested in 120 shares. The oflicers of the corporation were a president, two vice presidents, six directors, a treasurer, a clerk, ond two toll gatherers. The right of possession was vested in the proprietors and their assigns forever, with a proviso that at the expiration of fifty years from the day of opening the bridge, the Geneial Court may alter the rate of toll, which was established as follows : Foot passengers - l£d. Man and horse - 4d. Horse and cart - 6d. Team drawn by more than one beast 9d. Horse and chaise - 9d. Coaches, chariots, phaetons and curricules Is. 6d. Man and wheelbarrow 2jjd. Horse and neat cattle, not in team nor rode 2d. Sheep and swine §d. Double toll was required on the Sabbath Day. This view reproduced from the Massachusetts Magazine for 1790 was taken from the heights of Bunker Hill. The town of Med- ford, seen at some distance with its surrounding hills and the Mys- tic river, in the fore ground, offer an interesting study for the antiquarian mind. 344 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. CHARLES RIVER BRIDGE. Boston, being entirely separated from the main land, except by its connection by means of the Neck on the south side of the town, it was thought expedient, as early as 1720, to build a bridge and connect the north side with the main land, but was doubtless abandoned on account of the large amount of funds its construc- tion would require. In 1738, the subject was again agitated, but the design was again laid aside, probably from the same cause as before, and it was not until June 17th, 1786, that the bridge was finally built and opened to the public. The engraving and follow- ing description was copied from the Massachusetts Magazine for 1789 :— The exercises attendant were witnessed by upwards of 20,000 people. The ceremonies were ushered in at day break by the dis- charge ot thirteen cannon from Breed's Hill, Charlestown, and from Copp's Hill, Boston, accompanied by the ringing of the bells of Christ church. A long line of civic and military bodies, headed by the different branches of the legislature, started from the old State House as a salute was fired from the " Castle." On their arrival at the bridge the procession formed two lines between which the president of the bridge company, Thomas Russell, and the other individuals forming the company passed on to the centre of the structure, and orders were given to fasten the draw, when the procession passed over. At this moment the thirteen cannon on Copp's Hill were discharged, amid the cheers of the assemblage. As the company ascended Breed's Hill the thirteen cannon there were discharged. Two tables of 320 feet each, united at the end by a semicircular one, accommodating 800 persons, were located on the hill where "the gentlemen," the narrative says, "spent the day in sober festivity, and separated at 6 o'clock." The whole fabric was completed in the course of thirteen months. All emoluments arising from toll were vested for 40 years in the company who built it—' ' Proprietors of Charles River Bridge " — who began and finished the same with their own private means, at the end of which period, the bridge was to become the property of the Commonwealth. The length of this structure was 1503 feet. The abutment at Charlestown, from the old landing, was 100 feet ; space to the first pier, 16£ feet ; 36 piers at equal distance to the draw, 622J feet ; X > a r w w I— I < w a M O Q «?■.» '• ,C < "'■'■ ■:"i$^v:iiry- — ~jrr. ■-■"-■:, f-" '' ' ilir i |§ij j s PHf; l'l jlili 111 ',1 , ,J| (j_J .,:,.. M '|..:yJ]'il|,lJlt O o < — I -3 X > r r ANTIQUE VIEW 8 OF BOSTON. 357 THE OLD COURT HOUSE AND CITY HALL. The County Court House here shown in two engravings was built in 1810 of granite aud cost $92,817,16. The main building was octagonal, with wings at each side. It was one hundred and forty feet long, and fifty-five feet wide and the wings were 26 by 40 feet. It was occupied by the office of Probate, Registry of Deeds, and the County Courts. This building was early known as Johnson Hall, in honor of Isaac Johnson, one of Boston's earliest settlers. Tradition locates his house on the site of the old Court House. According to a desire expressed on his death bed, he was buried at the south west corner of the lot, and the people exhibited their attachment for him by ordering their bodies to be buried near his. The lot on which the City Hall stands was sold to the town in 1645. The name ' ' Johnson Hall " does not seem to have been gener- ally adopted, for we find it more frequently spoken of as the " Court House." The engraving of " Johnson Hall, Court Square," was reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype Engraving process, from Snow's Boston, published in 1825, and our other view of the Court House, was reproduced by the same excellent process from the Polyanthos, a magazine published in Boston in 1813. The latter view although published at an earlier date is very evidently of a later origin, from the presence of the other buildings. The cut in Snow's Boston was probably made from an old drawing or engraving. In it, at the left, is shown the old Columbian Museum, which stood on the site of the present Mass- achusetts Historical Society building, and directly in front of the Museum is shown the old Chapel burial ground. The two story building at the left, in the Polyanthos view, was Barristers' Hall, and the small, one story building in the rear, was in the day of the volunteer fire department, ' : No. 7, Tiger Engine House." This was the "crack" volunteer company of Boston and numbered in its membership some of Boston's best citizens. Barristers' Hall stood on the site of the Franklin Statue now in front of the City Hall. The basement of the low building at the right was occupied as a paint shop. Barristers' Hall was built by John Lowell. 358 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. FEDERAL STREET THEATRE. The Puritan spirit of our ancestors was transfused into the firsl and second generations which succeeded them, and nothing like the popular amusements of our day was countenanced by them. A third and fourth generation became, by degrees, a little more lax in manners and sentiments, and the fifth had so far thrown off restraint as to look upon balls and assemblies with some favor. The first attempt to establish a theatre here (1750) was followed by a law of the Province, prohibiting them under penalties. Dur- ing the siege, the British officers entertained themselves with amusements of a theatrical character. From that time no trace of anything of the sort is found until 1789, when the newspapers contain intimations of a design to establish one. While the pro- hibitory law remained in force it was unsafe to proceed openly, and an effort was made to repeal the act in 1792, which failed, and the expedient of exhibiting plays under the guise of Moral Lect- ures, was adopted in the fall of that year. A majority of the town had favored the petition for the repeal of the prohibitory laws, " as unconstitutional, inexpedient and absurd." The patronage of the great moral show was so liberal, that the plan of building the Boston Theatre was soon carried into effect at the north-west cor- ner of Franklin and Federal streets, its site now being occupied by Jones, McDuffee & Stratton. It was opened February 3, 1794, with the tragedy of Gnstavus Vasa. The first manager was Charles Stuart Powell. It was commonly known as the Federal Street Theatre, and for some time as the Old Drury, after Drury Lane, London. In 1798, it was destroyed by fire, leaving only the brick walls standing. It was soon rebuilt, however, and was opened in October of the same year. In 1800 the celebrated Mrs. Jones appeared here. Kean, Macready and the gifted Mrs. Eawson graced its stage at different times. On Kean's first appearance here in 1817 he met with a flattering recejation, but on his second engagement in 1825, having refused to play to a thin house, he was driven from the stage amid jeers and a shower of projectiles. Henry J. Finn, then one of the managers, vainly endeavored to obtain a hearing for the tragedian, who stood before the audience in the most abject manner, a picture of rage and humiliation. A riotous crowd obtained admittance to the house and destroyed what they could of the interior. The discomfited Kean was compelled to seek safety in flight. o w > r GO M w > ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 361 About 1833 it was closed as a theatre and leased to the society of Free Inquirers. In 1834 the '" Academy of Music " obtained possession, and the name was changed to the " Odeon." Relig- ious services were held on Sundays, by Rev. "William M. Rogers' society, until the building of their church on Winter street. The stage was again cleared for theatrical performances in 1846-7. Lafayette visited the Boston Theatre on the last evening of his stay in 1824. An entire new front was erected on Federal street, in 1826, and an elegant saloon added with many interior improve- ments. About 1852 the theatre property was sold and a business structure erected, which was destroyed in the great fire of Novem- ber 9th, 1872, but which has since been rebuilt. Charles Bulfinch, famous as the architect of our State House, National Capitol and other public buildings, was the designer of the Boston Theatre. It was built of brick, was one hundred and forty feet long, sixty-one feet wide and forty feet high. An arcade projected from the front serving as a carriage entrance. The house had the appearance of two stories ; both the upper and lower were arched, with square windows, those of the second story being more lofty. Corinthian pilasters and columns decorated front and rear. Several independent outlets afforded ready egress. The main entrance was in front, where alighting under cover from their carriages, the company passed through an open saloon to the stair- cases leading to corridors at the back of the boxes. The pit and gallery were entered from the sides. The interior was circular in form, the ceiling being composed of elliptical arches resting on Corinthian columns. There were "three rows of boxes, the second suspended by invisible means. The stage was flanked by two columns, and across the opening were thrown a cornice and balus- trade ; over this were painted the arms of the United States and Massachusetts, blended with historic emblems. From the arms depended the motto, " All the World's a Stage." The walls were painted azure, and the columns, front of the boxes, etc., straw and lilac color ; the balustrade, mouldings, etc., were gilt, and the second tier of boxes were hung with crimson silk. There was also a beautiful and spacious ball-room at the east end, handsomely decorated, with small retiring rooms. A cuisine, well furnished, was beneath. Such was the first play- house Boston ever had. The accompanying engraving was repro- duced from Snow's Boston, 1825. 362 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. QUINCY MARKET. Quincy, or Faneuil Hall, Market was begun in 1824, the cornet stone laid in 1825, and was finished in November, 1826. North and South Market streets were laid out at the same time and are respectively sixty-five and one hundred and two feet wide. The difference in the width of these streets, and in fact the position of the market itself, is due to the refusal of the heirs of Nathan Spear to part with their estate an any terms. By increasing the width of South Market street, the difficulty was overcome and the city took the estate with a clear legal conscience. Codman's, Spear's, Bray's and the wharves, extending between North Market and State streets towards the present line of Commercial street, were re- claimed in this great improvement, and Chatham street was laid out. As soon as North and South Market streets were laid out build- ing lots on both were sold with the stipulation that a substantial brick store of four stories, with stone front, conformably to a plan and specifications of particulars, should be built thereon, on or before the first of July, 1825, which accounts for the present row of fine stores now bordering on those streets. Each row, or block, measured 530 feet in length. This improvement by Josiah Quincy was the greatest enterprise of the kind ever undertaken in Boston. Although not an imme- diate pecuniary success, it soon became so, and is a monument to Mr. Quincy's genius and perseverance. Mr. Quincy, in his History of Boston, says of this enterprise ; " A granite market house, two stories high, 535 feet long, cover- ing 27,000 feet of land, was erected at a cost of $150,000. Six new streets were opened, and a seventh greatly enlarged, including 167,000 feet of land, and flats, docks and wharf rights obtained to the extent of 142,000 square feet. All this was accomplished in the centre of a populous city, not only without any tax, debt or burden upon its pecuniary resources, but with large permanent ad- ditions to its real and productive property." Our engraving was reproduced by the Photo-Electrotype En- graving Process from Snow's History of Boston, published 1825, which shows the water front within, probably, seventy-five feet of the market, where now (1882) there is a thousand feet by actual measurement to the water on Atlantic avenue, from which there project wharves fully another thousand feet. o G i— i O > W i 1 ..uataa ■ i BOSTON, > Plymouth $ Sandwich MAIL STAGE, CONTINUES TO RUN AS FOLLOWS : LEAVES Boston every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings at 5 o'clock, breakfast at Leonard's, Scituate ; dine at Bradford's, Plymouth ; and arrive in Sandwich the same evening. Leaves Sandwich every Mon- day, Wednesday and Friday mornings ; breakfast at Bradford's, Plymouth; dine at Leonard's, Scituate, and arrive in Boston the same evening. Passing through Dorchester, Quincy, Wyemouth, Hingham, Scituate, Hanover, Pembroke, Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth to Sandwich. Fare, from Boston to Scituate, 1 doll. 25 cts. From Boston to Plymouth, 2 dolls. 50 ct£. From Boston to Sandwich, 3 dolls. 63 cts. Nv B. Extra Carriages can be obtained of the proprietor's, at Boston and Plymouth, at short notice. — f3"STAGE BOOKS kept at Boyden's Market-square, Boston, and at Fessendon's, Plymouth. LEONARD & WOODWARD. BOSTON, November 24, 1810. [Reproduced from a print in possession of the Bostonian Society.] ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 365 THE FIRST RAILROADS OP BOSTON. The steam railroads were introduced into Boston at a time when its commercial interests were suffering, and the citizens were alarmed for her future as a commercial center. Up to the time of the Revolution Boston was the first town in the country in point of commercial importance, population and influence. New York, with her great canal enterprises, and her steamers making daily voyages to Providence, New Haven, the Connecticut river, and to ports on the Hudson and Long Island Sound, rapidly out- stripped Boston in the race. When the practicability of the rail- road was discovered and demonstrated in England, its introduction into Massachusetts was promptly urged and pressed by the citizens of Boston, as the solution of the problem by which successful competition with New York and the enlargement of the business and trade of the city could be best secured. The men of capital, however, were slow to recognize its advantages, but once firmly established, the great advantage of the railroad over the canal and other modes of travel of that day was recognized by all. The Lowell was the first organized of the Boston steam rail- roads, as well as the first upon which the work of construction was actually begun ; close behind it followed the Worcester and Prov- idence. In those days, however, when everything connected with construction had to be learned as the work went on, the progress was not rapid. The only actual experience of any real value to be obtained was that of the Manchester and Liverpool road in England. These roads were built by engineers that had never seen the English works. Twelve miles a year was considered rapid construction. Such distrust at these undertakings was felt that in January, 1833, Mr. Francis Stanton obtained the signatures of the holders of one thousand shares of the stock of the Boston and Worcester railroad to call a stockholder's meeting to consider the question of stopping the work and abandoning the enterprise. At last, however, in the spring of 1835, all the three lines ap- proached completion at about the same time. The first locomotive set in motion in Massachusetts was en the Boston and Worcester tracks, in the latter part of March, 1834. Rails were then laid as faf as Newton, and the company delayed opening this section of the road to travel, only because it was compelled to wait the arrival of an engine driver from England to take charge of the English-built locomotive. At last, on April 366 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 4th, a locomotive was actually put to work on a gravel tram, aud three days later, on the 7th, a party of the directors and their friends went on a trial trip as far as Davis' tavern in Newton. On the 12th of May there appeared in the "Daily Advertiser" and 1 ' Patriot " the following new form of notice : — BOSTON AND WORCESTER RAIt ROAD. THE Passenger Cars will conlinue to run daily from the Depot near Washington street, to Newton, at 6 and 10 o'clock, A.M. and at 3^ o'clock, P. M. and Returning, leave Newton at 7 and a quarter past II, A.M. and a quarter before 5, P.M. Tickets for. tho passage either way may be had at the Ticket Office, No. 617, Washington street ; price 37£ ccms each ; and lor the return passage, of the Master of the Cars, Newton. By order of the President and Direciore. a 29 epislf F. A. WILLIAMS, Clerk. The regular passenger service began four days later, May 16th, 1834. It consisted of the six trains specified in the advertise- ment. Thirty-five years later it was stated that the increase of travel was such that two passenger trains, carrying on an average three hundred persons, entered or left the city every five minutes of the fourteen active working hours each day. The Boston and Worcester depot was located at first near what is now known as " Indiana Place," between Washington and Tre- morit streets. Mr. Harnden, the originator of the express business, was the first ticket master at this station. The Worcester railroad was opened to West Newton April 16th, 1834, and through to Worcester July 3rd, 1835. Boston and Lowell was opened June, 1834, and through to Lowell June 24th, 1835. Boston and Providence was opened June 4th, 1834, and through to Providence August, 1835. The Maine was opened from Wilmington to Andover in 1836 ; to South Berwick, 1843. The Eastern comes next, in 1838, in which year it was opened to Salem ; George Peabody was the first president. The Old Colon j began operating in November, 1845, the Fitchburg in 1845, and o o w w H W > 2! d S3 O < 3 w o M > » o > o » o w en 3 O ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 369 the New York and New England in 1849, under the name of the Norfolk County road. It is a curious fact that every one of the eight railway stations in Boston stands on ground reclaimed from the sea. WORCESTER AND PROVIDENCE RAILROADS CROSSING THE MARSHES OF THE BACK BAY, 1840. The engraving shown here is a reproduction of the frontispiece of Barber's Historical Collections, and shows the appearance of Boston as seen from the south-west, near the intersection of the Providence and Worcester railroad crossing. This engraving is considered especially valuable, as showing the great changes that have taken place in the Back Bay district during the past forty years. Nearly the whole bay was filled with gravel brought by these railroads. On this reclaimed land are now built the best residences in Boston, second to none in the country. EARLY HISTORY OF THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. In all histoiy we find graphic descriptions of the ravages of fire. Human life has not been exempt from its destructive power. The splendid mansions of the rich and the humble domicile of the poor are all subject to its fury. The town of Boston has been the frequent scene of its terrifying operations. The first fire of any record occurred in March, 1631. Mr. Thomas Sharp's house caught fire and was destroyed, also the house of Deacon Colburn. The next fire burned the house of Wm. Cheesborough, in 1653. March 14th, 1653, the selectmen voted to provide forthwith "six good Long Ladders for ye town's use, to be hung on ye outside of ye meeting-houses and branded with ye town's mark." It was also ordered that every householder "shall provide a pole 12 feet long and a swab on ye end to reach ye top of his house in case of fire." In 1653, another fire occurred which destroyed several buildings in the heart of the town. Nov. 2, 1676, the town was thrown into great consternation by a fire which broke out in Mr. Wake- field's house, which was consumed with 46 dwelling houses and the North Meeting-house in Clark (now North) square. Many instances are recorded of fines for not having a pole and swab. Jan. 27th, 1679, the town received the first fire engine from England, and the selectmen passed the following order in regard to it : "In case of fire in ye town Thomas Atkins is desired and 370 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. doth engage to take care of ye managing of ye s'd Ingine in ye work intended and secure it from damage, and hath made choice of 12 men to assist in ye work." This engine was located in Queen (now Court) street. It was brought into service Aug. 8th, 1G79, at a fire which raged until noon of the 9th, destroying 170 buildings and several vessels. The loss was very heavy. In 1683, a fire destroyed a large number of buildings on the south side of the draw-bridge near the dock. A great fire occurred on March 11th, 1702. The loss was immense. "Ye Ingine could do but little to oppose its progress. Henry Deering was this year appointed master of the Ingine, and ordered with his men to meet at the Ingine House on the last Monday of every month, at 3 of the clock, to exercise themselves in the use of said Ingine." In 1703, a pump was placed at the dock to be used in case of fire. In 1707, two engines were imported. One was placed at the North End, the other at the dock. On Feb. 28, 1709, the follow- ing vote was passed: "Whereas, the Water Engines being the goods and chattels of the town and under the care and direction thereof, who are now informed that Mr. Sheriff Dyer, without the knowledge of ye selectmen, hath appointed masters to the several Engines, — Ordered that said masters be forthwith dismist and ye selectmen appoint suitable persons to attend thereunto." Oct. 1, 1711, an extensive fire began in Williams Court, which demolished all the houses from School street to Cornhill and Dock Square. It burned the First Church, where Rogers Building now stands. The three engines were incessantly at work during the fire. On Jan. 1, 1712, Mr. James Pearson was appointed over- seer of the " Persons Listed to attend ye Water Engines, and all Persons were ordered to attend to his directions in ye manage- ment of ye Engines," and the following month John Ballentine, Timothy Clark, John Greenough, Thomas Lee, Wm. Lander, Edward Winslow, Edward Martin, Stephen Minot, Samuel Green- wood and John Pollard were appointed to be Fire Wards for and within the town. This was the first Board of Fire Wards. They were men of high standing, and, seeing the importance of substi- tuting engines for the pail and swab, recommended the purchase of three more, which the town voted to do on Nov. 14th, 1714. They arrived in the latter part of the year 1715. One was placed at the side of the Old North Meeting-house, another at the Town House, and the third in Summer street. The following order was Q M 5d H O »— i 2! W 2S O ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 373 given to the masters of engines and renewed each year until 1750 : " Ordered that Mr. have ye charge of ye Water Engine at and is allowed 12 men, and in case he should want to put out or take in any man he shall give an account to ye selectmen and have their order for so doing." In 1736, Mr. B. Sutton noti- fied the selectmen that his engine wanted a new hose. This is the first mention of hose upon the town records. In 1740, the fire- men were released from jury duty. About this time another engine was brought over from England. In 1747, a small copper engine was taken out of a Dutch ship wrecked on the coast. Faneuil Hall was destroyed by fire in 1761. The most of the buildings in Williams Court were again burned in 1763. Twenty houses were burned near the Mill Creek in 1767. Salem Street Meeting-house was burned in 1773. The Jail in Court street was burned in 1769. In 1775, the engines were placed under guard by the British General. In 1794, the square between Pearl, Milk, Atkinson and Purchase streets was laid in ashes. Ninety-six buildings were destroyed. The loss was over §200,000. The engines, until the year 1798, were designated by their place of deposit, or by their master's names. The selectmen numbered them arbitrarily, beginning at the North End. No. 1 was imported in the year 1707. No. 2 was given to the town by Gov. Hutchinson. No. 3 imported in 1715. No. 4 in 1707. No. 5 in 1715. No. 6 in 1740. No. 7 in 1679. No. 8 was taken out of a Dutch ship wrecked on the coast, 1747. No. 9 imported in 1715. No. 10 in 1772. No. 11 in 1776. No. 12 in 1796. The members of No. 7 of to-day (1882) are the lineal descend- ants of the first company organized in the country, and attached to the engine imported in the year 1679, and numbered 7 in 1798. The following are the names of the captains of this company from 1679 to 1882, for a period of over 200 years : — Thomas Atkins, Ealph Carter, Henry Deering, William Young, Bartholomue Sut- ton, Stephen Willis, John Blowers, Gersham Flagg, William Sut- ton, Joel Cushing, Edmond Ranger, Oliver Wiswell, Robert New, Jonathan Heath, Eben White, Seth Copeland, James Pierce, James Weld, I. Amary Davis, W. H. Tileston, W. G. Eaton, W. B. Swift, J. H. Blake, Thomas Williams, P. W. Hayward, Thomas Cassady, Jonathan Hager, W. S. Damrell, T. P. Foster, J. C. 3/4 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. Bartlett, Lewis Beck, John Ball, C. C. McClennon, S. B. Ken- dall, Josiah Snelling, W. C. Savage, D. L. M. Dwinell, C. C. Henry, Thomas Whipple, M. C. Thompson, J. Q. Alley, A. A. J. Bartlett, G. L. Imbert, John Winniatt, D. T. Marden. The first fire engine made in Boston was built by David Wheeler, a blacksmith in Newbury (now Washington) street. It was tried at a fire August 21, 1765, and found to perform extremely well. Tiger engine No. 7, shown in our engraving, was built by Bisbee & Edwards of Boston, in 1835, and is reproduced from one of the earliest lithographs made in this city. THE OLD STATE HOUSE FIRE. This engraving is a reproduction from a plate made by Pendle- ton about 1835. The plate is still used by the Boston Fire De- partment for the purpose of printing certificates, diplomas, etc. The events connected with the fire are thus graphically described in the Daily Advertiser and Patriot, and also in the Columbia Centinel, of November 22, 1832 : "We are informed of a serious fire occurring on the previous day, in the building numbered 14 and 16 State street, during which a canister of gunpowder ex- ploded and injured several persons. At about 6 o'clock the Chief Engineer called upon engine company No. 7 to play once more upon the timbers which had rekindled, and while thus employed, some of the members gave the word to turn the pipe upon the City Hall (Old State House) , on the northern roof of which, under the sill of one of the Lutheran windows in the Land Commission- er's office, the corner of which rested against a chimney, a smoke and small flame was seen. The pipe could not be turned there, but was lowered down and the ladder shifted to City Hall. In the mean time, No. 11 had arrived on the ground and commenced playing. The fire was supposed to be only about the Commis- sioner's room, and to be extinguished, when the Engineers ascer- tained that the interior of the roof nearly through the whole extent, between the ceiling of the upper rooms and the tower, between the circular staircase and the interior, was in flames. The alarm was then given and the Department again called to- gether, and after nearly three hours indefatigable labor the flames were arrested, after destroying the interior of the roof, excepting the largest timbers, and after insiduously working their way even THE OLD STATE HOUSE FIRE. ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. 377 to the ball which supports the vane. The fire was fought step by step by the firemen, whose duty was exceedingly irksome and laborious, but they kept to their posts and worked like men. Some of them performed daring feats in their anxiety to save the property of their fellow citizens." The fireman seen on the dome is Charles H. Porter, and the one on the south-east corner of the building is Charles Stearns. Both are now living (1882) and remember the events connected with the fire quite distinctly. Before the introduction of the steam fire engine, much rivalry existed between the different fire companies, which often resulted in serious trouble. Broad street was the scene of a great riot between the firemen and the Irish of which we give the following description : — THE GREAT EIOT EST BROAD STREET, BOSTON. On June 10th, 1837, there had been a large fire at Roxbury, from which No. 20 had returned and housed their engine. Some of the members had gone home, while others remained to see an Irish funeral procession pass. One of the members, who stood upon the pavement, was rudely pushed back upon the sidewalk by an Irishman, with the remark, "he had no business in the street." This was the origin of the riot. Some high words im- mediately ensued between the parties, and blows followed in quick succession ; the firemen gathered around their comrade ; the Irish rushed to the assistance of their friends. The firemen were at first driven back to the engine house, when they again rallied and drove the Irish back to Sea street. The Irish immediately began to gather in large numbers, and making a rush upon the firemen drove them back to their engine house and also from the engine house, taking the engine out into the street, where they upset it. The Irish then formed their funeral procession, while the fire- men rallied their comrades, and, being joined by the members of No. 8, they returned to the conflict. The Irish then rushed to Robbins' wood-wharf and armed themselves with sticks of wood and lumps of coal, which they plied with some success. The news of the riot had now spread all over the city, and the firemen were hastening from all points to the assistance of their comrades. The Irish in the mean time had gained strength, and the excite- ment of the firemen was almost without bounds. The Irish were 378 ANTIQUE VIEWS OF BOSTON. driven from the wharf, when a large body of them made a stand upon the open ground on the top of Fort Hill, where they hurled brickbats, stones and pieces of coal at the firemen for half an hour with great energy. A large body of firemen rushed upon them and drove them from this strong position into Broad street. The fight, which had become general, was kept up until seven o'clock in the evening, without intermission. The ranks of the Irish were gradually thinned by the arrest of some of their prominent members, who were carried off to jail amid loud shouts and yells. Finally, the Irish gave up the con- test, just in time to save themselves from the bayonets of the mil- itary, several companies of which were ordered to the scene of strife. GREAT FIRE IN BOSTON. During the early part of the evening of Nov. 9th, 1872, a fearful fire broke out at the corner of Summer and Kingston streets, which proved to be one of the most disastrous fires that ever occurred in this city or on this continent. The flames spread with great rapid- ity, completely baffling all efforts to subdue them on the part of the firemen, and continued their course north and north-east into the most substantial buildings in the business districts, a large pro- portion of which were of solid granite, being used for the whole- sale business. Aid was summoned far and wide, and special trains bearing fire engines from distant cities were soon on hand. Build- ings were blown up, the gas cut off, leaving the panic-stricken city almost in darkness. The militia were ordered out to aid the police in preventing robbery and unbounded lawlessness that seemed at one time to be beyond control, adding much to the excitement and terrors of the time. When at last the fire was subdued, it was found that an area of over 63 acres had been burned, and property destroyed to the amount of one hundred millions of dollars, and many lives lost, leaving a smoking chaos of ruins, bounded by Summer, Washington, Milk and Broad streets. Although this calamity was a fearful blow to the business interests of Boston, entailing any amount of misery and distress, it however soon recovered from the shock, and with its usual pluck, refusing all proffered outside aid, has now covered the burnt district with some of the most imposing and substantial business warehouses, which are an ornament to the city. TRINITY CHURCH BOSTON, HARTFORD 4t ERIE R.R OEPOT. View of the Ruins after the GREAT FIRE in Boston, from a point opposite Trinity Church, Summer St. From Photograph by J, W. BLACK. DATE DUE UNIVERSITY PRODUCTS, INC. #859-5503 BOSTON COLLEGE 3 9031 025 43573 6 ■■V : Hi