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Somerville and New England History Collection
 
In 1746 the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted that
the "Stone Wind-Mill" in the part of Charlestown between
"the Neck of Land and Cambridge" be renovated into
a powder magazine. King George's War (the name commonly used
for the North American operations of the War of the Austrian
Succession) was in its sixth year and Governor Shirley believed
the colony's existing facilities for storing munitions were
inadequate. The windmill (which had been used to grind flour)
was soon fitted for gunpowder storage. The Powder House was
center stage in a prelude to open war between Britain and the
colonies. In 1774 General Gage, doubting the loyalty of the
local population, seized 250 barrels of gunpowder from the Powder
House. Ironically, the raid left the colonists better prepared
for actual rebellion. Foreseeing future British military actions,
colonial leaders directed town governments to form special companies
of soldiers capable of rapid response ("Minutemen")
and instituted a system of express riders to warn of troop movements--the
most famous of whom was, of course, Paul Revere. During the
nineteenth century the Powder House and surrounding land became
the property of the Tufts family, who donated the building and
land to the city in 1890. The area was formally dedicated as
Nathan Tufts Park in 1893. |
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