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The Powder House is an historic powder tower at 162 Ames Street in Dedham, Massachusetts. [1] [2] It stands on land owned by the Dedham Museum and Archive, but the Town of Dedham owns the structure itself. [3]
Gunpowder had been stored in the rafters of the meetinghouse since 1653. [4] [3]
On March 1, 1762, the Town voted to refer the further consideration of a powder house to the next May meeting. [5] At this meeting, it was voted to have the Powder House "builded on a great Rock in Aaron Fuller's's land near Charles River," but the work was not done by the Committee then appointed. [5] [2] [6] It was not until the May meeting in 1765 that it was decided to erect a building eight feet square on the outside and six feet high inside. [5] [2]
Construction began on June 7, 1766 and was eventually completed in 1767 at a cost of £13.6.4.1. [2] [5] It was built by Captain David Fuller, Deacon Nathaniel Kingsbury, and others. [3] Measuring 8 feet square on the outside and six high on the inside with a concave hipped slate roof, it was built of brick and lime mortar. [3] [6] [5]
By the 1840s, it was no longer considered necessary and the use was discontinued. [6] By the 250th anniversary of the Town in 1886, it was said that "so thoroughly is Powder House Rock identified with the social life of this community that it has come to be regarded as almost a sacred spot dear to the present dwellers in the village and to the sons and daughters of Dedham scattered throughout the land." [5] On the occasion of the 250th anniversary, the building was restored to as close to its original condition as was possible and a bronze tablet was inserted onto its side. [5]
In the mid-1800s, a group of boys pried open the doors of the powder house one winter day. [7] They found kegs of stiff white card cartridges filled with damn powder and heavy bullets. [8] There were also kegs filled with flints used in flintlock muskets. [7]
The boys took the cartridges down to the meadows where fires burned for the benefit of the ice skaters nearby. [7] The damp powder hissed and sizzled when thrown into the fires, and the bullets were melted down. [7]
A proposal was made by Louis Bullard to turn the powder house into a memorial of prominent Dedhamites, with their names carved into the building. [7] Nothing came of it.
On April 27, 2019, a cleanup was held to help restore public access to the powder house. [1]
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, 1635–1699, begins with the first settlers' arrival in 1635 and runs to the end of the 17th century. The settlers, who built their village on land the native people called Tiot, incorporated the plantation in 1636. They sought to build a community in which all would live out Christian love in their daily lives, and for a time did, but the Utopian impulse did not last. The system of government they devised was both "a peculiar oligarchy" and a "a most peculiar democracy." Most freemen could participate in Town Meeting, though they soon established a Board of Selectmen. Power and initiative ebbed and flowed between the two bodies.
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts, from 1800 to 1899 saw growth and change come to the town. In fact, the town changed as much during the first few decades of the 19th century as it did in all of its previous history.
The Norfolk County Courthouse, also known as the William D. Delahunt courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark at 650 High Street in Dedham, Massachusetts. It currently houses the Norfolk County Superior Court. It is significant as a well-preserved Greek Revival courthouse of the 1820s, and as the site a century later of the famous Sacco-Vanzetti trial. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It replaced an earlier courthouse, built in 1795.
The Dedham Public School System is a PK–12 graded school district in Dedham, Massachusetts. It is the oldest public school system in the United States.
The Norfolk House also known as the Norfolk Hotel, was a tavern in Dedham, Massachusetts originally built in 1801 and located at 19 Court Street. It hosted John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Eliphalet Pond (1704-1795) represented Dedham, Massachusetts in the Great and General Court.
The Daniel Slattery house was the site of the first Catholic mass in Dedham, Massachusetts.
The history of Dedham, Massachusetts from 1700 to 1799 saw the town become one of the largest and most influential country towns in Massachusetts. As the population grew and residents moved to outlying areas of the town, battles for political power took place. Similar battles were taking place within the churches, as liberal and conservative factions bristled at paying for ministers with whom they had differences of theological opinion. New parishes and preciencts were formed, and eventually several new towns broke away.
The Ames Tavern was a tavern in Dedham, Massachusetts. Founded as Fisher's Tavern in 1649 by Joshua Fisher, it eventually passed into the hands of Nathaniel Ames through a complicated lawsuit based on colonial laws of inheritance. It was eventually owned by Richard Woodward, who renamed it the Woodward Tavern by the time the convention that adopted the Suffolk Resolves met there.
Captain Aaron Fuller was an early American military official from Dedham, Massachusetts.
St. Paul's Church is an Episcopal Church in Dedham, Massachusetts
The Dedham Bank was a bank in Dedham, Massachusetts. It was located on the corner of High and Pearl Streets.
The Phoenix Hotel was one of the most popular social spots in Dedham during the 19th century. It was located on the northwest corner of the High Street-Washington Street intersection in modern-day Dedham Square. Among the distinguished guests of this hotel were Andrew Jackson and James Monroe.
Temperance Hall was an assembly hall in Dedham, Massachusetts associated with the temperance movement.
This is a timeline of the history of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts.
The Dedham Public Library is a public library system established in 1872. It is part of the Minuteman Library Network.
Hannah Shuttleworth (1800-1886) was a philanthropist from Dedham, Massachusetts.
Memorial Hall served as both the town hall of Dedham, Massachusetts from 1868 until 1962 and as the Town's monument to the soldiers from the town who died in the Civil War.
The Pillar of Liberty is a monument in Dedham, Massachusetts commemorating the repeal of the Stamp Act. Erected by the Sons of Liberty, it originally had a pillar with a bust of William Pitt on top.
369 Washington Street, also known as the Knights of Columbus building, is a fraternal and commercial building in Dedham, Massachusetts. Today it houses the local Knights of Columbus council and a number of commercial ventures. In the past, the property housed a number of taverns, including the Phoenix Hotel. Several notable guests, including Andrew Jackson and James Monroe, have visited the property.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
