The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by Puritan dissidents who faced a host of potential enemies in Holland, France, and England itself.
That “a sea fort… be built, 40 feet long, 21 feet wide, for the defense of this colony.”
– General Court recommendation, March 4, 1634
”Getting Started
Although granted a charter by King Charles I, the King’s
advisors quickly had second thoughts about the Puritan
founders and demanded the charter’s return. Concerns grew
that an English fleet might arrive to dissolve the colony.
A beacon was placed “on sentry hill” to give warning
of approaching threats (the origin of the name “Beacon
Hill.”) The colony government also decided to erect a fort.
Nantasket, in present day Hull, was considered before Castle
Island was selected to defend the new Boston settlement.
- Duesseldorfer
Matters of Protocol
At first the Puritan government refused to fly the English flag, which featured the cross of St. George (a red cross on a white field.) It was thought to be idolatrous, symbolizing the Church of England. After controversies with visiting ship captains, they reneged, deciding not to provoke the king.
Still it was important that visitors identify themselves. In 1637 a warning shot struck the rigging of a ship and fell to the deck, killing a crew member. A local coroner pronounced the death due to the “providence of God.”
John Winthrop
As commanding officer in 1805 Nehemiah Freeman issued an order naming the fort’s bastions. One was dedicated to John Winthrop “the first governor of Massachusetts under whose auspices the fort was built.” In fact the fort was started under Governor Thomas Dudley but Winthrop was the dominant figure in the colony, serving twelve terms as governor.
- Massachusetts Archives
A Warning Beacon
A column at the Massachusetts State House commemorates the warning beacon on “Beacon Hill.” Swampyank photo
- Massachusetts Archives
Counterintuitive
While generally strict, Puritans served food and drink after a funeral, “one of the few occasions when New Englanders drank to excess” according to historian David Hackett Fischer. This 1699 document “Reimbursing funeral charges for Nathanial Holmes Kild by the Breaking of a great gunn at the Castle upon Castle Island” includes 32 gallons of wine and 2 barrels of “Strong beer.”
- Massachusetts Archives
What’s In a Name: Castle Island
Many assume that the island takes its name from the castle like fort that occupies the site. Possibly the island’s natural topography resembled a castle when viewed from the deck of a ship. It was called “Castle Island” almost immediately.