Boston, Massachusetts, USA (East, North, South) (Allston) (Readville) (Roslindale)
1845 - BOSTON. Inc. 1630. Population, in 1845. E. 115,000

The Indian name of Boston was Shawmut, which is said to mean a spring of water.
The first name given to it by the English was Tri-mountain or Tremont, which means three hills; but whether it was named from Beacon, Copps, and Fort hills, which are seen from the harbor, or from the three eminences of Beacon Hill, which were seen from Charlestown, is uncertain. All the hills, and particularly the eminences of Beacon Hill, have been partly levelled to make new land.

The name of Boston was adopted as a compliment to the first minister, Mr. Cotton, who came from Boston, in Lincolnshire, England.

The first permanent settlement was made July 6, 1630, by Governor Winthrop and a large company, including persons of wealth and distinction from England.

The old town was a peninsula, surrounded by water, except where it was attached to Roxbury by a narrow strip of land, just wide enough for a road, and called The Neck. South Boston and East Boston were afterwards added.

OLD BOSTON.

Old Boston (numbered 1 on the map) is about three miles long and one mile in breadth. It is now joined to Roxbury by the Neck; to Brookline by a mill-dam, called the Western Avenue; to Cambridge by two bridges; to Charlestown by two bridges, and to South Boston by two more.

The chief Railroads that centre in Boston are, The Worcester and Western, from Boston to Albany.

The Providence, to Providence in Rhode Island, and Stonington in Connecticut.

The Lowell, to Lowell in Massachusetts, and Concord in New Hampshire.

The Eastern, and the Boston and Maine, to Portland in Maine.

The Fitclhburg, to Fitchburg in Worcester County, and thence to Brattleboro' in Vermont.

The Old Colony Railroad, to Plymouth.

To these railroads there are numerous branches.

Boston Harbor is included between Point Alderton or Nantasket,on which is the small town of Hull, and Point Shirley, the southeastern point of Chelsea, named after Governor Shirley.

The chief islands are Noddle's, No. 3, now called East Boston; Long Island, No. 7; Deer Island, No. G ; Governor's Island, No. 5; Fort Independence, No. 8; George's Island, No. 9; and Lighthouse Island, No. 10. Of these, Governor's, George's, and Fort Independence are strongly fortified. Noddle's alone is, to any extent, inhabited.

The Rivers that empty into Boston Harbor, are

The Charles, which forms a bay called the Back Bay, west of the city, and then passes between Boston and Charlestown.

The Neponset, which enters the harbor between Quincy and Dorchester.

The Mystic, which separates Charlestown from Chelsea,

The Maniquot, in Braintree.

SOUTH BOSTON.

South Boston (numbered 2) was a part of Dorchester until 1804. In form it is a peninsula, and it contains those memorable heights, the occupation of which by General Washington, in 1776, obliged the British to quit Boston.

EAST BOSTON.

East Boston (numbered 3) was called Noddle's Island until 1832, when it was purchased by a company of gentlemen, who laid it out in building lots, since which time its increase has been almost unexampled.
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The first newspaper in America, called the News Letter, was published at Boston, in 1704.

Among the great men of America, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams were Bostonians.


Faneuil Hall, though not the largest or most magnificent structure in the city, is perhaps the most celebrated building in the United States. Its connection with the authors and deeds of the Revolution, has long given it the name of 'The Cradle of Liberty.'

An Elementary Geography for Massachusetts Children by William Bentley Fowle and Asa Fitz, 1845
Get it HERE!

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