@ This Address

Story of the Bunker Hill Monument, Part 2

A closer look at the famous marker in the middle of Charlestown.

Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series about the history of Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Click here to read part 1. Breaking ground for the Granite Railway in 1826 made it possible to get the stone intended for the monument to Charlestown. This was a massive undertaking. Stones weighing several tons were hoisted at the quarry onto railroad cars, which then hauled the massive granite stones from the quarry to the Neponset River. The granite was then loaded onto schooners to be ferried to Charlestown, where, at Deven’s wharf, the stone was transferred, again, to ox-driven carts and trekked to Breed’s Hill. No wonder the monument took 18 years to build. To lift the enormous blocks of granite, Willard, with the help of …

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Mary Kay Donovan

6:18 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Hi Plenty - Was not "The Charlestown Patriot" a weekly paper that was available all over town? And did it not give the community news from new babies to obits and everything in between? Thanks to the hard work of Jim & Gloria Conway, we had a paper. Let's not forget you could even place a prayer request in it. Now that's a paper for the people.   more ›

@ This Address

Story of the Bunker Hill Monument, Part 1

A closer look at the famous marker in the middle of Charlestown.

[UPDATED Monday, Feb. 25, 12:14 p.m.] All that is most important about Charlestown might be found at the top of Breed’s Hill. Towering over the town there, dwarfing everything else, is the solitary Bunker Hill Monument, one of the first public monuments in the history of the United States. Not to overstate the importance of this landmark, but the battle commemorated here, even though considered a victory for the British, proved to be a sword in the side of the British military, a blow from which the Empire never recovered.  The granite pillar stands as a testament, not only to the sheer, raw courage of men determined to drive out the enemy, but also to the loss of life of so many.  It is witness to an excruciatingly bloody battle and the …

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Visitors Spend Nearly $100 Million At Boston-Area National Parks

The National Parks Service has released a new report outlining the economic impact of the parks, most of which are in Beacon Hill and Charlestown, on the city of Boston.

Article and info provided by the National Parks Service: A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 3.2 million visitors in 2010 spent $93,586,000 in Boston National Historical Park, Boston African American National Historic Site, and in communities near the parks. That spending supported 1,212 jobs in the local area. "The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value," Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site superintendent Cassius Cash said. "Boston's National Parks are clean, green fuel for the engine that drives our local economy." Most of the spending/jobs are related to lodging, food, and beverage service (52 percent) …

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