The City Record and Boston News-Letter

Dot Ave Isn't For the Cows

Today's Boston Globe, in an article about the rejuvenation of Dorchester Avenue, refers to Dot Ave as having "a centuries-old history as cowpath and trolleyway long before pedestrians had to tangle with buses and cars to cross the street".  I hate to quibble, but the practice of labeling almost any historic street in the Boston area as a "cowpath" is misleading at best, and dead wrong at worst.  Dorchester Avenue was built as a turnpike for wagon traffic--it is straight because that's the least expensive way to build a road, and investors in such projects prefer to keep costs down.  The irony of course, is that people so often claim the crooked streets downtown were laid out on cowpaths.  One of Dorchester's cow path was Adams Street, which led from the salt marshes along the Neponset where cows would graze.  I know someone who remembers being told as a young boy how cattle would be driven over Meeting House Hill to the cattle markets in Brighton.  In addition, if Dorchester Avenue were like many turnpikes, one would actually have to pay per head of cattle to drive them along the road.  The last thing the turnpike proprietors wanted were traffic jams caused by herds of livestock.  Adams Street is old enough to have previously been named the "Lower Road" in Dorchester, as opposed to the "Upper Road", which is present day Washington Street.

From 1910:

Dorchester Avenue, Boston, South Boston, and Dorchester, 1854; from 303 Congress Street to junction of Adams Street and 1172 Washington Street at Lower Mills; formerly from Federal Street Bridge to junction Adams Street and Washington Street at Lower Mills; shown as an unnamed avenue on plan dated 1811; formerly called Dorchester Turnpike and sometimes, though improperly, South Boston Turnpike, and the apart from dividing line between Boston and Dorchester to Federal Street Bridge called Turnpike Street;  Turnpike Street from Federal State Bridge to dividing line between Boston and Dorchester named Dorchester Avenue, March 27, 1854; part in Dorchester laid out and located April, 1854; lines changed in neighborhoods of Crescent Avenue and Pond (now East Cottage) Street, September 8, 1865; name of part formerly Turnpike Street and Dorchester Avenue to dividing line between Boston and Dorchester changed to Federal Street in continuation of that street, February 13, 1866; same renamed Dorchester Avenue, March 1 1870; relocated from Commercial (now Freeport) Street to Adams Street, August 18, 1881; relocated from Field's Corner to the Lower Mills, May 12, 1884; extended over Federal Street Bridge and over a small portion of the former location of Federal Street (now in the grounds of the Boston Terminal Company along Fort Point Channel and over portions of the same to Summer Street, April 8, 1897, under chapter 516 of the Acts of 1896; portion between Summer Street and Congress Street laid out by decree of the Superior Court, filed March 19, 1897, under authority of Acts of 1896, chapter 535; named Dorchester Avenue, March 1, 1901; grade changed so that the way may be carried under the Shawmut Branch Railroad, Oct 12, 1907, be decree of the Superior Court, acting under authority of chapter 111 of the Revised Statutes and chapter 440, Acts of Legislature of 1902.

Massachusetts Archaeology Month Event at the Blake House

October is Archaeology Month throughout the Commonwealth, with numerous events geared to explorers of all ages.  You can visit the official website, but here is one event coming up this weekend that you won't want to miss:

Family Archaeology Day Day at the James Blake House

Date and time:  Saturday 6 October, 10 AM to 4 PM (the rain date is Sunday, 7 October)

Location:  The James Blake House, 735 Columbia Road, Dorchester

Information:  Ellen Berkland, 617-474-9307

Sponsor:  Dorchester Historical Society

Admission:  Free

Become an archaeologist for the day at the oldest house in Boston, the James Blake House, built ca. 1650.  Excavate, screen, document, wash, and study artifacts recovered from the Blake House yard.  Drop by for an hour or stay the whole day!  All ages are welcome.  Wear appropriate clothing and bring work gloves.  Guided tours of the Blake House will be given on the hour starting at noon.

Edward Everett Square Dedication Remarks

I received an email today from someone who attended the Edward Everett Square Dedication, asking if I would post the remarks I made at the dedication.  Here they are:

I am pleased to be here today as a representative of First Parish Church in Dorchester, the oldest religious congregation in present day Boston and a landmark on Meeting House Hill since 1670.

We stand  today at the historic crossroads of Edward Everett Square.   Massachusetts Avenue begins here which is fitting given the role Dorchester has played in the founding of this Commonwealth and in American history. 

The English settlers of Dorchester arrived in 1630 and found that Native Americans had been using Dorchester for fishing and food cultivation for centuries and without their help, the English would have faced much longer odds for survival.  After a hard winter, the settlers built Dorchester's first church, the one I represent today,  near this site in 1631.  The Town of Dorchester created the first tax supported free public school in America  in 1639 and in 1645 the town declared that the school "shall equally and impartially receive, and instruct such as shall be [sent to the school] whither their parents be poor or rich, not refusing any"   

The road to American independence went through Edward Everett Square.  In March of 1777 the cannons which convinced the British to evacuate Boston went up Boston Street to Dorchester Heights under the leadership of Henry Knox.

Dorchester people have long been at the forefront of civil rights, from the Dorchester Anti-Slavery Society in the 1840s to women's rights champion Lucy Stone to Jones Hill resident William Monroe Trotter, who advocated on behalf of African-Americans to First Parish in Dorchester,  which conducted the first same sex marriages in Dorchester in 2004.   Even animals and plants are represented in Dorchester's history—the founder of the Animal Rescue League, Anna Clapp Harris Smith lived at 65 Pleasant Street and several of the most prominent 19^th century members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society developed important varieties of fruits and flowers in Dorchester. 

Although Dorchester is often overshadowed by Boston, we have a long history here of which to be proud.

Most important however, is that this place is where Dorchester residents held the first recorded town meeting in American history, on October 8 1633.  At that meeting the men of Dorchester agreed to elect representatives, abide by their decisions, and to work together for a common good.  This town meeting form of representative democracy quickly spread from Dorchester throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony and ultimately helped form the American republic.

There will soon be several sculptures here in Edward Everett Square reflecting every day community life and each will have quotes from people connected with Dorchester.  The bricks under our feet will have the words of many others, making Edward Everett Square the site of a virtual town meeting with voices spanning the centuries, talking, arguing, sharing, and dreaming with each other, united in both time and space.  Everyone here has the chance to contribute to the conversation by donating a brick to the effort and I encourage everyone to add their own voice.

Thank you.

Every Man His Own Historian, Sort Of

"If the essence of history is the memory of things said and done, then it is obvious that every normal person, Mr. Everyman, knows some history."  Carl Becker, 1931.

But what exactly is the nature of the history people know?  I've recently noticed several instances of historical claims being made with little justification.  J. L Bell has been observing Framingham with a close eye, the Boston Globe examined the oldest house claims of the Fairbanks House in Dedham and the Balch House in Beverly, while I have found yet another misleading claim about the origins of public education in this country, among other historical problems.  Jay Fitzgerald nails it, albeit on a different subject:  we're in the "Worst Historical Analogies Ever War".

In today's Boston Globe I read a letter from David Martin of Dedham, a member of the town finance committee there.  Martin, in defending Dedham against what he sees as an unfair portrayal by the Globe, claims, "In 1643, Dedham voted to authorize the first taxpayer-funded free public school in the country and has embraced the importance of public education ever since".  Without veering to far into angels on the head of a pin territory, it should be noted that Dorchester created the first publicly funded school in America in 1639.  In May of that year, the town meeting (a form of government  created by Dorchester) declared:

"It is ordered that the 20th of May 1639, that there shalbe a rent paid of 20ls yeerely foreur imposed upon Tomsons Iland to bee payd p euy p'son that hat p'prtie in the said Iland according to the p'portion that any such p'son shall fro tyme to tyem injoy and posesse there, and this towards the mayntenance of a schoole in Dorchestr this rent of 20ls yeerlyl to bee payd to such a schoolemaster as shall undertake to teach english latin and other tongues and also writing...."

It is pretty simple really:  the oldest public school is Boston Latin School which was created by the town of Boston in 1635, although students had to pay to attend, the oldest free public school was created in Dorchester, and then there are the pretenders like Dedham and Rehoboth.  When the Globe addressed the origins of public education last year, I wrote a letter to the Globe trying to clear up the mystery.  I see it didn't stick.

As to the title of this post, I refer readers to Carl Becker's 1931 presidential address to the American Historical Association.  It is well worth reading.

Edward Everett Square Dedication

The art installation for the redesigned Edward Everett Square in Dorchester will be dedicated on Saturday, June 16th, at 2 P.M.  I will be speaking briefly on the history of Dorchester and Edward Everett Square.  Other speakers will include the Mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, Laura Baring-Gould, the artist responsible for the art installation, John McColgan a community member who helped lead the project, and Jim Cooke, an actor who will play Edward Everett.  Boston City Singers will also perform.  I hope to see a good crowd come out for this event, which represents the culmination of many years of hard work.

An overview of the project can be found here.

Captain Peter Strockland: Dorchester's West Africa Connection

I like to feature talks and exhibitions related to the history of Boston, so if you have news of historical interest please email me.

Received recently in the mail:

Date  30 April 2007   
Time:  Noon to 2 P.M.
Location: Room 204A, Third Floor, McCormack Hall
University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Stephen Grant will present highlights of his biography of a nineteenth-century Dorchester resident, sea captain Peter Strickland, a merchant and the first American consul in French West Africa.  Peter Strickland: New London Shipmaster, Boston Merchant, First Consul to Senegal tells the story of a farmer's son born in 1837 in New London, Connecticut who left home at age 15 for a seafaring life.  By age 24 he had become a merchant marine captain.  He bought a house in Dorchester, where he settled with his family in 1871.  Strickland commanded dozens of sailing vessels out of Boston that traded with West Africa from 1864 to 1904.

The book is al
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Dorchester Day Parade 2007

Dorchester Day, 1930, the 300th Anniversary of the Landing of the Puritans in Dorchester, click to enlarge. (Photo copyright The City Record and Boston News-Letter, all rights reserved)

The 2007 Dorchester Day Parade will be held 3 June 2007. 

The Dorchester Reporter has more parade information.

377 Years of First Parish in Dorchester

First Parish Church in Dorchester will hold its 377th anniversary service tomorrow, 25 March, at 11 A.M. and the public is invited to attend.  First Parish in Dorchester was founded in Plymouth, England, on 20 March 1630 and the congregation landed in America in early June, 1630, an occasion marked by the Dorchester Day Parade.  More information about the history of First Parish can be found here and here.

Gaining Ground in Dorchester

Nancy Seasholes, author of Gaining Ground: A History of Landmaking in Boston, will be presenting a lecture "Gaining Ground in Dorchester" at the Dorchester Historical Society, 18 March 2007, 2 P.M. at the William Clapp House, 195 Boston Street, Dorchester.  The lecture is free and open to the public.  This should be a fascinating lecture by the author of one of the best books of Boston history in recent memory.  Stop by and say hello!

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Lost Dorchester on Jones Hill, Part 2

Governor Gardner House, Pleasant Street near Sawyer Avenue, c. 1888, click to enlarge (Photo copyright The City Record and Boston News-Letter, all rights reserved)

This is the second installment of Lost Dorchester, the first being the Dexter House on Hancock Street.  The Gardner House was built in the mid-18th century and added on to several times, which resulted in a rather sprawling appearance. 

The Dorchester Atheneum has more about the Gardner House and Dr. Henry Gardner and Governor Henry Gardner, two notable residents.  First Parish Church in Dorchester has in its possession a clock donated to the church by the Gardner Family in 1816.

The map below shows the location of the Gardner House in the upper right (look for the number 41), at the corner of Savin Hill Avenue and Pleasant Street.  The map dates from 1882 but the photo, which was taken c. 1888 indicates the location of the house as Pleasant Street near Sawyer Avenue.  One wonders how long Sawyer Avenue was in popular use before the official name change.

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