The history of Charlestown is diverse and multi-faceted. The area was inhabited by the Massachusett Tribe who called it Mishawum, before being settled by the English beginning in 1628 prior to the arrival of the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. Not…
One of six early federal navy yards, the Charlestown Navy Yard was established in 1800. The United States Navy was rooted in the Continental Navy and in 1794, Congress passed the Navy Act to protect threats to overseas interests on…
Sullivan Square was named for the Sullivan family, several of whom were very prominent in Charlestown businesses as well as land speculation. James Sullivan (1744-1808) was the fifth governor of Massachusetts, the president of the Middlesex Canal Company (1793-1808) and…
From 1830 and until 1860 the most prevalent style home to be built in Charlestown was the Greek Revival. Some Greek Revivals are grand columned temple-front homes such as the Swallow Mansion at 33 Cordis Street (1845). Another iteration of…
At the top of Green Street across from the Dexter Mansion (now Memorial Hall) was another formidable Charlestown estate that for many years was the home of James Frothingham Hunnewell (1832-1910), noted Charlestown citizen and historian, and author of A…
Samuel Dexter (1761-1816), born in Boston, was a distinguished politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives before his appointment as U.S. Secretary of War (1800-1801) by President John Adams. Subsequently he briefly served both Adams and…
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…
One of the most beloved buildings in all of Charlestown is the Engine 50 firehouse on Winthrop Street. The current building was opened in 1918, but a firehouse has operated on this site since 1853 making it the longest serving firehouse…
Charlestown has been blessed with an amazing number of late 18th century and early 19th century homes that were built during the reconstruction of Charlestown following the Battle of Bunker Hill. By the late 1960s the population of the town…
It’s hard to imagine, but in the early 19th century there were 14 wharfs along the Charlestown waterfront extending along the shoreline of Charles River Bay just below Town Hill, all the way to the Navy Yard. There were an…
