REVERE (Rumney Marsh)

Rumney Marsh was originally divided and allotted to twenty-one of Boston's most prominent citizens. By 1639, the original 21 allotments had been consolidated into seven great farms. Farming was, and continued to be, the principal industry of Winnisimmet, Pullen Point and Rumney Marsh in particular. On September 25, 1634, Winnisemmet, Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point were annexed to Boston. The first County Road in North America stretched across Rumney Marsh from the Winnisimmet Ferry to Olde Salem in 1641. Many travelers, attracted by the fertile soil and lovely crescent beach returned to Rumney Marsh to settle. In 1739, Rumney Marsh, Winnisimmet and Pullen Point were set off from Boston and established as the Town of Chelsea. Rumney Marsh was the largest of the three settlements, and therefore was selected as the Town Centre. In its early years, such famous and controversial people as Captain John Smith, Governor Winthrop and Paul Revere, visited the Town. George Washington is said to have dined at the home of Isaac Pratt. Chelsea played a role in the American Revolution as the site of the first naval battle in 1775 at Rumney Marsh. Winnisimmet grew more rapidly than the other two sections. By 1846, 2,100 people lived in Winnisimmet and only 900 in Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point combined. On March 19, 1846 Rumney Marsh and Pullen Point were set off and incorporated as the Town of North Chelsea. In 1850, nearly the entire population of Rumney Marsh was employed in farming. Even the Marsh was harvested, producing "salt hay" for livestock. In 1852, Pullen Point was set off from North Chelsea and established as the Town of Winthrop. On March 13, 1857 Chelsea became a city. In 1871, North Chelsea adopted the name of Revere after Paul Revere. The population was 1,197. The name of the Salem Turnpike, which had been completed in 1803, was changed to Broadway. The completion of the Eastern Railroad, in 1838, (later to become the Boston & Maine) and the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn railroad (the Narrow Gauge) in 1875 signaled the beginning of rapid population growth for the town of Revere and the development of the Beach as a summer resort. In 1888 the first electric trolley in Massachusetts began and this increased accessibility of Revere Beach, (formally Chelsea Beach). The beach became famous as a resort. By 1885 the town had increased to 3,637 people, more than tripling in size over 15 years. By 1890 the population grew to 5,668. In 1915, with the growing population, Revere became a city.