North Square in the
North End of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, USA, sits at the intersection of Moon, Prince,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
, Garden Court and Sun Court Streets.
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to a ...
lived here, as did other notables in the 17th and 18th centuries. Prior to July 4, 1788, the area was known as Clark's Square.
History
In the 17th century,
Old North Meeting House anchored the neighborhood. Its pastor,
Increase Mather
Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and president of Harvard College for twenty years (1681–1701). He was influential in the administ ...
, lived in the square "until the great fire of 1677, when his residence was destroyed".
"In the eighteenth century Boston's two grandest houses were on North Square. ...
William Clark
William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...
, merchant, had a 3-story brick house with 26 lavish rooms, and nearby, facing the garden court, was John Foster's house, later occupied by
Governor Hutchinson."
John Pitcairn
Major John Pitcairn (28 December 1722 – 17 June 1775) was a Marine Service officer who was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, at the start of the American War of Independence.
Born in Scotland in 1722, Pitcairn joined the Naval Service at ...
and
John Downes also lived in the square.
As was typical of the North End generally, in the 20th century predominantly Italian immigrants lived in the square. Since the 1950s, it has been part of the
Freedom Trail
The Freedom Trail is a path through Boston, Massachusetts, that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds from Boston Common in downtown Boston through the North End to the Bu ...
.
Image gallery
Image:Foster Hutchinson house FleetSt Boston.png, Foster-Hutchinson house, corner of Garden Court and Fleet St. Probably built ca.1686 by merchant John Foster. Occupied by merchant Thomas Hutchinson (d.1739) (father of Governor Hutchinson, who was born in the house)
Image:1743 NorthEnd Boston map WilliamPrice.png, Detail of 1743 map of Boston, showing North End and Clark's Square (later North Square)
Image:1814 NorthSquare Boston map Hales.png, Detail of 1814 map of Boston, showing North Square
Image:BethelChurch NorthSq Bowen PictureOfBoston 1838.png, Bethel Church, built 1832[Bowen's picture of Boston. 1838.]
Image:NorthSquare ca1845 byRupertSadler Boston SimonsUPNE.png, North Square, ca.1845, by Rupert Sadler
Image:NorthSt ca1894 NorthSq Boston.png, North Square and North Street, ca.1894
Image:NorthSq ca1895 Boston.png, North Sq., ca.1895
Image:2010 NorthSquare Boston.jpg, North Sq., 2010
See also
*
Mariners House
*
Pierce-Hichborn House
*
Paul Revere House
References
External links
Bostonian Societyhas materials related to the square.
Google news archive
{{coord, 42, 21, 48.75, N, 71, 03, 13.05, W, display=title
Squares in Boston
History of Boston
North End, Boston