Charlestown, Massachusetts

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Image:Charlestown massachusetts and bunker hill between 1890 and 1910.jpg Image:Bunker hill monument.jpg Charlestown is a part of the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1628, and settled July 4, 1629, by Thomas Graves, Rev. Francis Bright, Ralph, Richard and William Sprague and about 100 others who preceded the Great Migration. John Winthrop's company stopped here for some time in 1630, before deciding to settle across the Charles River at Boston. Charlestown was originally a separate city and the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; it was annexed by Boston in 1874. Charlestown is located northeast of Boston proper on a peninsula extending southeast between the Charles River and the Mystic River. Although Charlestown has had a substantial Irish American population since the migration of Irish during the Irish famine of the 1840's recently the neighborhood has changed dramatically because of its close proximity to downtown and its unique architecture.

The geographic extent of Charlestown has changed dramatically from its colonial ancestor. Landfill operations have expanded much of Boston, lowering hills, and have expanded Charlestown, eliminating the narrow Charlestown Neck that connected the northwest end of the Charlestown Peninsula to the mainland. The original territory also included present-day Somerville, which was incorporated as a separate town in 1842. At the time, Charlestown proper was urbanizing, while Somerville was still largely rural.

Charlestown was the location from which Paul Revere began his famous "midnight ride" before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. A local restaurant still in operation, The Warren Tavern, claims to have been one of Revere's favorite taverns.

On June 17, 1775 the Charlestown Peninsula was the site of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In fact, the battle actually took place on Breed's Hill, which overlooked the harbor and the town and was only about 400 yards from the southern end of the peninsula; Bunker Hill was near the northwest end of the peninsula, close to Charlestown neck and about a mile from the Charles River. The city, including its wharfs and dockyards, was destroyed by fire during the battle. The Bunker Hill Monument now stands in Charlestown in commemoration of the battle.

Charlestown was the birthplace of inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, and the burial location of John Harvard, for whom Harvard University was named. Other notable residents include

Charles R. Adams, (1834-1900), Charlestown native, noted opera singer.<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896"> (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.</ref>
Charles B. Atwood, (1849-1895), born in Charlestown, noted architect who designed the Reliance Building among others<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896"/>
William Austin, (1778-1841), born in Charlestown, Massachusetts state legislator and author<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896"/>

The USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned vessel in the US Navy, is docked in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The northern end of Boston's Freedom Trail is in Charlestown.

Originally a Puritan British neighborhood during the colonial era (a time to which many of the neighborhoods structures date), and around the 1860's an influx of Irish immigrants arrived in the neighborhood. The neighborhood remained an Irish stronghold in the cultural, economic, and catholic traditions of neighborhoods like South Boston ("Southie"), Somerville , and Dorchester. In the late 1980s, however, Charlestown underwent a massive gentrification process similar to that of the South End. Drawn to its proximity to downtown and its colonial, red-brick, row-house housing stock similar to that of Beacon Hill, many upper-middle class professionals moved to the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood is a mix of upper-middle class residences, housing projects, and a large working class Irish-American demographic that is still predominant.

Neighborhoods in Boston, Massachusetts
Allston/Brighton · Back Bay · Beacon Hill · Charlestown · Chinatown · Dorchester · Downtown Crossing · East Boston · Fenway-Kenmore · Government Center · Hyde Park · Jamaica Plain · Longwood · Mattapan · Mission Hill · North End · Roslindale · Roxbury · South Boston · South End · West Roxbury