spotstory: Spots tagged with american revolution

The Washington Elm

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:01:10 +0000

Under this tree in Cambridge Common George Washington took formal command of what he called “Troops of the United Provinces of North America” on July 3, 17751. The place is today marked by several modest monuments.The militia of several colonies had been encamped on the Common since before the Battle of Bunker Hill the month before. There, instead of finding a polished, coherent, and well ordered army, His Excellency found “a camp that appeared to be a huge, smoking,...

Edmund Fowle House & Museum

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:51:19 +0000

Edmund Fowle, cordwainer, was born in 1719, and was married in 1745 to Abigail Whitney. His leather shop was on the South side of the Charles River near the bridge, close to the road (Galen Street). He died in 1771, leaving one-third of the house to his widow and the remainder to his several children. The second Edmund Fowle, who bought his brothers’ and sisters’ shares in the house, was born in 1747, the year his father acquired the house. He married in 1772 and had one child,...

The Paul Revere House

Wed, 02 May 2007 15:53:34 +0000

The Paul Revere House in tiny North Square was built circa 1680 and was occupied by Revere's family intermittently from 1770 to 1800.The timber house was built on the former location of the Second Church of Boston's parsonage. This was home to the famous Puritan Pastor Increase Mather and his reverend son, Cotton Mather. That building was lost to the Great Fire of 1676.The 1680 house underwent many renovations. A rear kitchen area was added during the 17th...

Old South Meeting House

Wed, 02 May 2007 19:46:34 +0000

The Old South Meeting House was built in 1729 and is one of the oldest churches remaining in Boston.The Georgian style brick structure stands in the same spot as its wooden predecessor which was built in 1669. Benjamin Franklin was baptized in that building.The meeting house was often used for gatherings when the crowd was too large to fit in nearby Faneuil Hall. The most famous of these is the meeting of 5000 people which preceded the Boston Tea Party.During the Siege of Boston,...

Copp's Hill Burying Ground

Wed, 02 May 2007 21:52:16 +0000

Copp's Hill Burying Ground sits atop Cop's Hill, one of the three hills of Boston, in the North End. The hill and the grounds are named after William Copp, a local shoemaker, who was the original land owner.The burying ground is actually four different cemeteries, the first of which dates back to 1659.The most notable people interred are the preachers Increase Mather and Cotton Mather.Originally, the hill was known a "Windmill Hill" after the wind-driven corn mill was...

King's Chapel

Thu, 03 May 2007 21:14:01 +0000

Construction of King's Chapel began in 1749, though due to scarcity of funds, the construction proceeded slowly and was not completed until 1754. For the same reason, the church spire was never constructed.The chapel was constructed around the smaller all-wood 1688 church that it replaced.The building is made primarily of granite, though some wood is employed for the columns. The granite comes from Quincy, MA and Braintree, MA. The church bell was cast by Paul...