The neck was so narrow that British solders dug a trench across it during the occupation of Boston at the outset of the Revolutionary War, turning Boston into a true island, for a while!
Here's a colonial map of Boston; I've indicated the neck with an arrow.
No trace of the original Neck remains today, but I was curious. I went looking for maps that would superimpose the colonial city on a current ,map, but could find none. Some old maps in the Boston Public Library offered hints, but also added confusion:
The original main street in and out of Boston changed names along its way: It began as Marlborough Street, changed to Newbury Street after a few blocks, and then changed again to Orange Street. After the Revolution, the street was given a unified name --- Washington Street.
Marlborough Street, Newbury Street, and Orange Street vanished, for a while.
Wikipedia says the Neck was about where this red circle is, at the intersection of what's now East Berkeley and Washington Streets:
For clarity, I outlined the original shore:
This begins to show how much of Boston is reclaimed land: The original city was something like 4 square miles; it's now about 40 square miles (10sq.km/100sq.km).
Marlborough Street and Newbury Street eventually came back to life as new streets in the reclaimed section of Back Bay, wholly unconnected to their original locations. There's an Orange Street miles away, in another town; but the only remnant of Orange Street that remains in Boston proper is the name of the "Orange Line" subway!
And now we both know a little more useless trivia about Boston. :)
Thank you so much, I am reading Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick and his descriptions don't match the geography of today. I grew up in New York and it has expanded its shoreline but nothing like what happened in Boston. Boston Neck now makes so much more sense.
ReplyDeleteJust finished the book an hour ago and was curious as to how Boston looks today compared to then.
DeleteThis was fun to use in class when teaching about Boston in the American Revolution.
ReplyDeleteI love this. I had a book that showed the size of Boston at various points over the years, and I've always marveled at how much of the city was filled in, partly because I lived on streets of the city that would have been under water around the Boston Neck. Did you know the city was once called Tremontanee because it had three hills? They cut down two of the three hills and used the dirt for expand the city, and they only left Beacon Hill.
ReplyDeleteMemorialized in the name of Tremont Street which starts at the top of the common and today continues via various alignments along or near the old Boston neck.
DeleteCool just reading Rush Revere and the american revolution by Rush Limbaugh
ReplyDeleteAlso just curios
ReplyDeleteThis is great, thanks for your work. I never knew the Boston Neck was so small, I knew there was a lot of "fill" land but your work shows how much fill there really was. Boston is a Great American City, wish I lived there on Jackson Ave or maybe on Chestnut Street "I wish"
ReplyDeleteThis is really helpful. I have been researching the Neck and this overlay you present provides much clarity. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCan you please direct me to more information on the period when Boston was a "true island"?
ReplyDeleteGrateful to have found this - thank you! Really helps me to understand Boston. I now want to understand the other side better - Roxbury, Dorchester, Brookline
ReplyDeleteMr Langa, Thank you so much!!! I live on Northampton St. and had heard we are on original land but had not been able to figure find the shoreline. I also understand the Piano Factory (791 Tremont St) used a canal to bring in materials and ship out pianos. As president of Chester Square Neighbors and co-founder of Mass Ave Coalition, I'm intrigued with the evolution of the neighborhood. Could we make a poster of your map for our upcoming festival, Sept 17? You can check us out at chestersquareneighbors.org.
ReplyDeleteFascinating stuff Mr. Langa. I am listening to a free lecture on the American Revolution which I downloaded from Audible. The professor speaks extensively on Boston's geography during this time, so I had to research and compare the Boston I know of today with that in the late 1700's and earlier. It's kind of funny isn't it, that there is no historical significance given to the location of the Boston Neck gatehouse. In a city that loves its' history, this location is very interesting to me, and it's largely forgotten. Thank you for making my curious inquiry successful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! It's so frustrating to read articles about US History without maps. I don't understand how some history books and websites think they can volley obscure geographical names at the reader and expect him to understand it all without providing a map. It took an unusually long amount of time for me to find information about this "Boston Neck." I didn't even know we expanded cities like that.
ReplyDeleteI was born on Albany Street adjacent to Orchard Park. I often wondered what the landscape was like during colonial times. When I was growing up it was a poor neighborhood with many different ethnicities occupying the three story red brick tenements that lined one side of the street. As kids we didn't realize how poor we were. I lived there until 1946 and then moved to Woodbine Street which was beautiful area to grow up in. I'd like to know more about both areas and would appreciate any information you can furnish me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen the website mapjunction.com ? It has several maps of Boston from the colonial era to the present day, and everything in between. You can view two maps side by side and learn more about how Boston grew over time, and see the precise location of the erstwhile Boston Neck.
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