bostonarea
Boston Area
We had a wonderful time in the Boston area. Spent alot of time visiting with our friends Jim and Colleen who went out of their way to make sure we enjoyed ourselves and took us to some wonderful lobster rolls and a great lighthouse. They took us to Gloucester where we were able to see the harbor and the area around it as well as the Cape Pond Ice Company, which was in the movie Perfect Storm.
We have now seen the start and end of the American Revolution as well as the Civil War. We have had enough cannons and battlefields to hold us until our next trip out this way. There is so much to see and do that we could not even get close to doing it all.
We had a chance to see where the first Iron mill ws built. It is now a National Park and the buildings have been rebuilt as they were in the 1600's. All the power to form and cut the steel produced was provided by waterwheels. The simple complexity of makeing an entire mill run on a few waterwheels is fascinating.
We also were able to go to one of the first mills that produced fabric. They have some of the original machines still producing fabric there. My God, OSHA would have gone nuts at the time it was in its heyday.
Saw the Old North Church and the North Bridge....site of the shot heard around the world....Learned a few new things, like the fact there were dozens of riders who went out to warn the country of the British troop movement. Paul Revere was captured and never made it to Concord .. his destination.. but others did. Of the two British soldiers who were shot at the battle at the North Bridge, one was still alive when a late arriving minuteman came across him and buried a hatchet in his head. Histroy can be much more exciting when your there and listening to all the things that are not in the history books. We could keep doing this over and over and it would probably take awhile to get tired of it... All in all, the Boston area was alot of fun.
Enjoy the pictures.....
One of the original power looms in the Boott Cotton mill in Lowell Ma. on left, on right looking down the line of looms in operation. By 1850 the mills were annually producing enough cloth to encircle the earth twice! 1000 of these machines were running at a time. The vibrations we so bad they had to be moved from the 4th floor to the first to avoid damage to the building.
A 64 bobbin winding machine. It would wind bobbins that were used in the looms. This to was waterpowered and belt driven.
Cape Neddick Lighthouse, also known as the Nubble Lighthouse, is located in York Beach, ME. The requests for a light station on the "Nubble" began in 1807. Approval for the light station was made by Congress in 1874, after numerous boating accidents.
1879 Cape Neddick light was built and started operating in July of 1879. The tower stands 41 feet tall (39' to the center of the lantern) and is 88 feet above the ocean. The red beacon of the Nubble flashes at 6 second intervals and can be seen from 13 nautical miles away. The tower is made of cast iron which is lined with brick. Surrounding the tower is a railing that is supported by 12 posts, each being topped with a small cast iron lighthouse. There are conflicting stories over the original color of the tower, some say red some say brown. It was repainted its current color of white in 1902. It has a 4th order Fresnell lens.
On the left, the square at Lexington where the British first fired on American colonists. The British were on their way to Concord to capture all the stored arms the colonists had there. On the right, the old North Chruch, where the signal was put in the tower to start the riders to warn the colonists of the British troop movement.
The caretaker of the church was the one who hung the lanterns and had them lit for less than a minute. The British troops saw the signal and investigated. The caretaker escaped capture by going out the window. Left is a picture of the window as it was at the time with a replica lantern hanging in it.
The old North Bridge is the site of the shot heard around the world. This is the site where American colonists first fired upon and killed British troops thereby starting the American Revolution. Of course there was alot more to it but this is the site that is know for the start of the war.
The USS Constitution...Old Iron Sides... Much of the crossarms are missing and the ship is undergoing repairs. The crossarms are on the docks next to the ship while they repair / replace bad wood. It is scheduled to sail out into Boston Harbor on the 4th of July 2008. It is the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy.
Now while this church is old and part of Boston, it has no real history that I was interested in, but this picture is actually a reflection of the church in the Prudential building across the street. It is more impressive than the church itself.
The Blastfurnace shown on left contains much of the original rock that formed the original furnace.