This was the Richard Frothingham House at 2 Eden Street, an early 19th C. Federal mansion that was located at the corner of Eden Street and Main Street with the front facade facing Main. Richard’s ancestor William Frothingham was part of Governor Winthrop’s company who arrived in Charlestown in 1630. The Frothingham family were prominent residents of Charlestown. The property was a large estate with a stable and the carriage sheds of Richard’s business behind the house, further up Eden Street. Many of the Frothinghams were carriage and coach makers as early as 1740, and Richard Frothingham’s yard on Eden Street was a busy place producing everything from hand carts to stage coaches. There were lush gardens and fruit trees on the estate as well. The Frothingham estate is clearly marked on Peter Tuft’s 1818 Plan of the Charlestown Peninsula. At the time this house was built, the Middlesex Canal property would have been across the Street, as was the Mill Pond which was the southern terminus of the canal. This neighborhood was referred to as the Mill Village. The history of the Middlesex Canal, which operated from 1803 to 1853, was covered in my article published in the Charlestown Patriot in April 2019. The Frothingham estate extended almost to Bunker Hill Street and the house stood on the southwestern end of what is currently the Eden Street Playground. Photo by Wolcott Cutler. Courtesy BPL.
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