Charlestown Business Association - history of Charlestown, Massachusetts - where the battle of Bunker Hill took place, home to the USS constitution and part of Boston's Freedom Trail.

P.O. Box 290303 Charlestown MA 02129 Hotline: 978-376-7878 Email: info@charlestownbusiness.com

CHARLESTOWN'S BUSINESS HISTORY

A Business Location to Admire

Charlestown has been the "business place to be" for more than 350 years. Settled by English Colonists in 1628, the town has been blessed with excellent waterfront; fine access by land and water; bridges, highways, and later, rail and subway lines; and most importantly, a great location. The community is only one square mile today, but it reached almost to the Massachusett border with New Hampshire (Merrimack River) at its Colonial start. The town's current vitality owes much to its premier location in the Boston region.

Many of the town's famous historic moments are linked to its location and especially to its waterfront. Anyone who has studied American history knows that the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought on June 17, 1775, occurred in Charlestown. The Bunker Hill Monument in the town's midst continues to celebrate that most famous first conflict of the American Revolution. American Colonists lost the battle but inflicted great damage to the British cause. What most people don't know is that Charlestown was reduced to ashes during that day of conflict, when British ships fired on the town.

Charlestown's Fresh Start

Rebuilding started shortly after the conflict and helped transform a 17th century village into a more modern community. Many fine 18th c. and 19th c. houses were built and remain standing today, lending the town its picturesque neighborhood quality. Today, Charlestown is an urban community and a neighborhood of Boston, although it was a town and city of its own until 1874, when it joined the City of Boston.

After the Battle of Bunker Hill, many businesses actively rebuilt as well. First there was the waterfront facing Boston (today's Water and Chelsea Streets), which had always bristled with maritime activity. By 1785, the town had 13 wharves. Soon, new bridges linked the town with nearby Chelsea on the north and Boston on the east. The US Navy opened a boatyard in 1800, and remained a top employer of town residents for more than 150 years. During World War II, the Navy Yard employed 47,000 workers from all over the region. Today that boatyard is known as the Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown Navy Yard, where the USS Constitution rests, and as a unique and revitalized commercial and residential district of town.

In the early 1800s, Charlestown became the Boston terminus of an amazing engineering effort, the Middlesex Canal, (near today's Hood Business Park on Rutherford Avenue). It linked upcountry goods directly with outlets here. Railroads soon replaced the canal with a more promising technology and opened the town to rapid trade with the North and the West. Also during the 19th century, Charlestown became known for its pond-cut blocks of ice, which were packed in sawdust along with Baldwin apples and shipped worldwide; its imported exotic teak and mahogany woods; its woodworking and furniture manufacturers; its tidal grain mill operations, and more. These large industries all sought the waterfront and rail lines with their ready access.

In the heart of the old community throughout much of Charlestown's history, Main Street and Bunker Hill Street have been important commercial areas. Here in the late 19th century, smaller businesses served the community that now numbered 28,000 residents. Banks, insurance, food and dry goods stores, and other businesses typical of small towns flourished here in small size buildings, many with residences above. A visitor today will still find many of these original buildings.

The 20th century saw growth, decline, and revitalization of the community, as Urban Renewal focused on redevelopment and as Charlestown's prime location lured new businesses and residents to Charlestown, just as it had in the 1620s..

Charlestown businesses have a long history, too!

The Charlestown Business Association is proud of the number of businesses in continuous operation for more than 75 years in Charlestown. See a recent list below. The businesses still in original family ownership today are marked with a star (*):

Name of the Company	Age of the Company
King & Co., a Division of H.R. Hatch Ins. Agency, Inc.	130 years
McCarthy Bros. Liquors*	112 years
Whittemore-Wright Company, Inc.	90 years
The Cooperative Bank	87 years
Liberty Bell Wholesale Grocery Co. Inc.*	76 years
Catalano Bros., Inc.*	86 years
The Warren Tavern	Built 1780; reopened 1972

Sources:
Portrait of a Port, Boston, 1852-1914, Belknap Press, 1971
Charlestown Directories, from 1830s to 1860
Sanborn and Bromley Atlases, 1870s - 1911
Telephone interviews with businesses, 1999-2000

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CHARLESTOWN

Charlestown, Massachusetts, named for King Charles I, was settled by English colonists in 1628 and was located on a peninsula known as "Mishawum" by the Native Americans. Originally encompassing much of its surrounding towns, Charlestown was a very large and independent community which grew into a bustling town within a few years.

At the beginning of the American Revolution, Charlestown's population had reached around 2,000 and the harbor side town was thriving. Shortly after the battles of Concord and Lexington in April, 1775, the British began to head toward Charlestown in retreat and residents quickly fled. On June 17, 1775, a battle took place on Breed's Hill which became a turning points in the war. Known today as "The Battle of Bunker Hill," American Colonists, led by Colonel William Prescott, were warned - "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes." Ill-prepared and outnumbered the Americans lost the infamous battle, but they showed unmatched strength and determination while inflicting heavy casualties onto the British troops. The boost helped them win the war, but after the battle Charlestown was burned to the ground.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Charlestown began an extensive rebuilding process. Reconstruction began with Market Square (now City Square) as the center of town government and Federal style, framed houses began to pop up as well. Many of the buildings erected during this period still stand today - including the Warren Tavern (1780). Another extensive project undertaken at this time was the building of a 220-foot granite obelisk known as the Bunker Hill Monument. Completed in 1842, this landmark pays tribute to the colonists who fought at Breed's Hill and began to change the tide of the war.

Industry also grew during this revival period. By 1785, Charlestown had 13 wharves in its harbor and soon new bridges were built to increase trade. The U.S. Navy opened a yard at Moulton's Point in 1800 and was one of Charlestown's top employers for more than 150 years. Transportation also came to the town via railroads and the Middlesex Canal which linked the Merrimack Valley with Boston Harbor.

In 1847, Charlestown was incorporated as a city and by 1870 its population had grown to more than 28,000. Immigrants, primarily those from Ireland, made up almost a quarter of the people in the neighborhood. The town grew rapidly over the next years to meet the needs of its expanding population many schools and churches were built around this time.

On January 1, 1874 Charlestown was officially annexed to the City of Boston and its landscape changed drastically with the advent of the elevated streetcar or the "El" in the early 20th century. The "El" did make the neighborhood more accessible to people and stimulated further industrial growth, but it proved to be an eyesore.

Charlestown's next important phase was the World War II era. The war placed a heavy demand on the shipyard and at its peak employed 47,000 workers. However the end of the war brought severe unemployment to Charlestown and the area began a steady decline until the 1970s.

It was during this time that urban renewal was brought to the City of Boston by Mayor Kevin White. Over the next two decades Charlestown saw the closing of the Navy Yard, the dismantling of the "El" and the resurgence of its population.

Today, Charlestown is the home of the U.S.S. Constitution which resides gloriously in its harbor. Accessible by the Charlestown Bridge or officially the North Washington Street Bridge, which connects the North End and City Square, the town is known for its restored early nineteenth-century houses, the redeveloped Navy Yard, gas lamps, and the Bunker Hill Monument.

Thompson Square - Historic Charlestown Savings Bank Building

Did You Know?

One Thompson Square was constructed in 1875, just after Charlestown ceased to be a city and became part of the City of Boston. It is a five story, 30,000 square foot structure, designed in what is known as High Victorian Gothic Style, a very popular style at the time, with beautiful multi-colored stonework on its front.

The owner/developer was the Charlestown 5 Cent Savings Bank, which started in 1854 in today's City Square but decided to build and move here. For your information, the successors of this original bank are now part of today's Citizens Bank. When the Savings Bank opened its doors at One Thompson Square in the mid-1870s, it only had offices on the 2nd floor. Next door, the gas company occupied the second floor space, and there were three stores on the ground or first floor. Over time, the bank took over the first floor by adding a banking floor and stayed here until the 1970s. Even today, the building is peppered with bank safes, reflecting its former uses.

In the mid-1870s at the original planning stage, the Bank convinced the Masonic Lodge to join with them to create a truly impressive five story building in Thompson Square. The building would have only been two stories without the Masons, who occupied the top three floors, with a banquet hall on the top floor accommodating more than 500 people; small meeting rooms along the front on the 3rd and 4th floors, and the large two-story Assembly Hall on the third with a capacity of almost 400 people. The Masonic Hall was in use until the late 1970s, when its functions moved. The Charlestown Savings Bank branch moved out at the same time to the Bunker Hill Mall.

Look for these the next time you go by: �The impressive 1,000 lb. corner clock at the 2nd floor, added in the 1930s �The peaked "high gothic" arches over the building entrances and at the roofline � The inventive use of two colors of stone to face the building, � The 1875 construction date carved into a round medallion at the center of the front facade, the Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank carved stone plaques at the second level, and the Masonic Hall name at the 4th. All in all, this building is a feast to the eyes!, and it has been lovingly maintained over the past 125 years.

CLICK HERE FOR A HISTORY OF CITY SQUARE

HISTORY TIMELINE

1628: First settled.

1629: Mass. Bay Company obtains charter for Mass. Bay Colony to trade and colonize in New England.

1630: Mass. Bay Colony settled by approx. 1000 Puritan refugees from England under Governor John Winthrop.

1634: First Board of Selectmen organized in Charlestown (first recorded Town Meeting held in Dorchester in 1633).

1635: Government of Mass. Bay Colony established in the Great House at Market Square (now City Square).

Nov. 2, 1637 John Harvard becomes a freeman of Charlestown, later serves as assistant pastor of the First Church of Charlestown - upon his death in 1638 Harvard leaves 1/2 his money along with his collection of classical and theological literature to recently created school in neighboring New Towne (now Cambridge) - founded in 1636, the school is renamed Harvard College in 1639

1678: First dry dock in America built in Charlestown.

1684: Charter annulled and Royal Rule substituted.

1691: New charter granted in 1691, merging Plymouth Colony and Maine into the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

June 17, 1775: Battle of Bunker Hill fought on Breed's Hill - British troops burn much of Charlestown to the ground (population around 2000).

1791: Samuel F.B. Morse born in Charlestown. Later invents the electric telegraph and the Morse Code.

1826: Construction of Bunker Hill Monument begins.

1842: Bunker Hill Monument completed

1847: Charlestown becomes a city.

1874: Charlestown annexed to Boston.

1800: Charlestown Navy Yard opens.

1803: Middlesex Canal opens, with Charlestown as its southern terminus, linking the Merrimack Valley with Boston Harbor.

1830 to 1870: Population triples to more than 28,000.

World War II: Charlestown Navy Yard employs 47,000 workers.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, and Charlestown, Exploring Boston's Neighborhoods from the Boston Landmarks Commission.