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| BOSTON CHARTER DAY - September 7th |
Due to our Labor Day Holiday on September 7
This year's Charter Day Events
A Celebration of the naming of
Boston & Dorchester & Watertown
on September 7, 1630
are being held on
September 10 thru 13
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BOSTON
CHARTER DAY
SEPTEMBER 10 – 13, 2009
A celebration of the naming of
Boston & Dorchester & Waterown
September 7, 1630
Breaking Away
Evolution of Governance in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
PRESENTED BY
The Partnership of the Historic Bostons, Inc.
The Dorchester Historical Society
The Historical Society of Watertown
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
Boston Public Library
The Bostonian Society
The Commonwealth Museum
The First Church in Boston
The First Parish Dorchester
The First Parish Watertown
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Watertown Free Public Library
The Winthrop Society
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2009 BOSTON CHARTER DAY EVENTS
All events are free, unless otherwise noted.
(Event details on reverse)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
6:00 p.m. – Reception
Boston Public Library, Rabb Lecture Hall Foyer*
7:00 p.m. – Presentation
“British Roots of Governance”
Boston Public Library, Rabb Lecture Hall *
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
1:00 p.m. – Program
”City on a Hill”
“Early Dorchester”
w Elder James Blake House
w Old North Burial Ground
w Lemuel Clap & William Clapp Houses
The Dorchester Historical Society, Dorchester***
6:00 p.m. – Reception
7:00 p.m. – Presentation
“Enduring Freedoms and Governance
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony”
The Commonwealth Museum, Columbia Point***
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
“Early Watertown”
10:00 a.m. – Tour Old Burial Ground
1:00 p.m. – Program: Early Town Governance
The Historical Society of Watertown, Watertown****
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Nondenominational Service
11:00 a.m. to Noon – Sabbath Gathering
The First Church in Boston*****
Boston Founders Trail Walking Tour*****
1:00 p.m. – from First Church in Boston & Old State House
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September 7 marks the 379th anniversary of Boston's creation as a formal political entity.
In 1630, the town of Trimountaine was renamed Boston
and declared the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Boston Charter Day
- an annual celebration of Boston's founding -
highlights the civic spirit, longstanding institutions, and first-class cultural and intellectual life in Boston.
The 2009 Charter Day Events celebrating the historic naming on September 7, 1630 of the three towns
– Boston, Dorchester & Watertown -
are coordinated by
The Partnership of the Historic Bostons, Inc.
The Dorchester Historical Society
The Historical Society of Watertown.
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Public Transportation Information
* Copley Station on the Green Line, Back Bay Station on the
Orange Line and Commuter Rail
** Park Street Station on the Green or Red Line
*** Red Line to JFK/UMASS Station, walk to Blake House,
*** Red Line to JFK/UMASS Station, shuttle bus to UMassB
Free Parking at Blake House & Massachusetts Archives
**** Bus # 71 from Harvard Square to Watertown Square
Metered parking at the Watertown Free Public Library
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| Historical Notes on Boston Charter Day |
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The first Boston Charter Day celebration took place on September 7, 2001 when the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Rappaport Institute hosted a panel discussion at the MHS in Boston. At the event, Governor Jane M. Swift issued an official proclamation naming September 7 “Boston Charter Day.” Speakers included the Reverend Peter Gomes of Harvard University, Professor Thomas O’Connor of Boston College, and Professor Will Holton of Northeastern University.
During the 1620s, the two main settlements in modern-day Massachusetts were Plymouth and Salem. The area in between was sparsely populated. What we now know as Boston was called Shawmut by the Native Americans and Trimountaine by the colonists. William Blackstone (or Blaxton), an agent for Robert Gorges, was its sole white inhabitant. Blackstone was a graduate of Emmanuel College, Cambridge University and the roommate of Isaac Johnson, the primary investor in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Johnson married Lady Arbella Clinton-Fiennes, sister of the the 4th Earl of Lincoln.
In 1630, a Puritan fleet of 11 ships with nearly 1,000 passengers sailed for New England. Their flagship was the Arbella, named after Lady Arbella, and their leader was Governor John Winthrop. Midway through the voyage, Winthrop made his famous speech: “We must be knit together in this work as one man, … we must delight in each other, make others’ conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together … for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” With this ringing charge, the fleet landed … at Salem.
The settlers soon found that Salem was in no condition to take on another thousand residents. Food was scarce, so the new colonists moved down the coast. Because of abysmal living conditions, 200 had died by the time the group reached modern-day Charlestown. Meanwhile, Native Americans had told Blackstone of the settlers’ suffering. Blacstone, who made use of a pure spring on Trimountaine, saw that access to clean water would vastly improve the Puritans’ condition. He made contact with Isaac Johnson and told him the group needed no second bidding to move across the river to Trimountaine.
Many of the Puritan settlers had come from Boston in Lincolnshire, England, a port city that would contribute ten percent of its population – including five future Governors – to Massachusetts. One Bostonian, Thomas Dudley, who served as steward to the Earl of Lincoln and latter became Governor of the Massachusset Bay Colony, suggested that Trimountaine be renamed after the English city. The Court agreed, and on September 7, 1630, the new town of Boston came officially into existence as the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The name Boston itself comes from a 7th-century monk named St. Botulph or Botolph. Botulph, whose name means “boat helper,” opened a monastery at what may have been the future location of Boston, Lincolnshire. Whether the monastery was there or elsewhere, the church in Boston attained the name of St. Botolph’s, and it is probable that “Boston” is a shortening of “Botolph’s town".
Massachusetts was soon established as the nucleus of the rapidly growing colony. The town’s humble origins became lost in its rapid growth as William Blackstone sought the refuge of the wilderness and moved on to what is now the town of Blackstone on the Rhode Island border. Yet the names of Tremont Street (for Trimountaine) and St. Botolph Street serve as a reminder that Boston’s early legacy is still with us today.
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| Mayor Menino at Charter Day Celebration |
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| "Founders' Trail" Tour at 2004 Charter Day |
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PROCLAMATION ESTABLISHING CHARTER DAY
by Governor Jane Swift in September 2001
WHEREAS: The Town of Boston was formally chartered on this date in 1630;
and
WHEREAS: The Town was made the Capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on that date; and
WHEREAS: An understanding of Boston’s civic spirit, religious freedom, commitment to education, and development as a people and an economy requires an understanding of its earliest days; and
WHEREAS: Boston’s selection as Capital has been a vital element of its political, cultural, and economic leadership role in New England;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JANE M. SWIFT, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim September 7 as
BOSTON CHARTER DAY
and urge all residents of the Commonwealth to reflect on how the history of Boston has shaped our lives and the ideals of democracy throughout the world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the great seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts this 27th day of September 2001.
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