previous next

Medford and Bunker Hill.

A framed certificate of membership in the Bunker Hill Monument Association issued to Joseph Wyman, Jr., hangs in the library of the Medford Historical Society. It was signed by the president, John Brooks, also by Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, John C. Warren and others.

When funds were needed for the completion of Bunker Hill Monument the women gave their help and held a fair in Quincy Hall, Boston, September 8, 1840, that lasted seven days. Twenty cities and towns supplied tables, Boston having quite a number, and on a list of forty tables Medford ranked number seven in the net sum handed in, making a creditable showing of $606. The Medford table was presided over by Mrs. Angier and Mrs. Hall.—

E. M. G.

On page 23, vol. XIV., the Register gives the names of thirty-seven Medford men who contributed to the monument fund, doubtless in the earlier days of its erection. [p. 64]

The table of the Medford women in the fair in Quincy Hall was numbered 11, three Boston tables being 9, 10, 12, and Maiden 13; all on the side next North Market street. The contract for the completion of the work was awarded (signed) November 4, 1840, to James Sullivan Savage for $43,800. Of this sum $30,000 was the result of the women's patriotic effort. Work was suspended in February, 1829, at a height of 37 feet; resumed June 17, 1834; again suspended November, 1835; height, 85 feet.

Steam power was first used for hoisting the granite blocks by the last builders, and on Saturday, July 23, 1842, the pyramidal capstone was hoisted in sixteen minutes, Col. Charles Carnes standing upon it, holding an American flag during the ascent. It is stated in the Monument Association's history that in all the work no one using intoxicating liquor was employed.

The above facts are taken from said book as of interest to Medford people.

Doubtless many have noticed (since the elevated cars have given the opportunity) the different color of the granite in the upper portion. Query? Was it from the same quarry at Quincy as the former?

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Places (automatically extracted)

View a map of the most frequently mentioned places in this document.

Sort places alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a place to search for it in this document.
Quincy (Massachusetts, United States) (1)
John Brook (Connecticut, United States) (1)
hide People (automatically extracted)
Sort people alphabetically, as they appear on the page, by frequency
Click on a person to search for him/her in this document.
Joseph Wyman (1)
John C. Warren (1)
James Sullivan Savage (1)
Dudley Hall (1)
Edward Everett (1)
Charles Carnes (1)
Samuel Angier (1)
hide Dates (automatically extracted)
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: