"The
beacon on the hill—in the foreground is the original
wooden Kings Chapel. In 1634 the General Court ordered that
the fort at Boston erect for defence on the water side a beacon
to be fired upon the discovery of any danger.
"The beacon on Sentry Hill was the great alarm-tower
of the town. It was ordered to be set up in March, 1634, to
give notice to the country of any danger, and that there shall
be a ward of one person kept there from the first of April
to the last of September, and that upon the discovery of any
danger the beacon shall be fired, an alarm given, as well
as also messengers presently sent by that town where the danger
is discovered to all other towns within the jurisdiction.
Later, in 1645, it was ordered that all the youth from ten
to sixteen years should be instructed by a competent person
in the exercise of small arms, such as small guns, half pikes,
and bows and arrows.
"The
beacon...was simply a tall pole furnished with wooden rungs
for climbing, with an iron pot filled with tar depending from
a crane at its top.
"It
is not known if the combustibles were ever fired. Flaming
from a height of sixty-five feet from the ground, and over
two hundred above the tide, the beacon would have furnished
a conspicuous signal in case of alarm.
"After
the erection of the beacon in 1635 it received the name of
Beacon Hill."
To:
Notable American Unitarians 1936-1961
