On March 15, 1998 the Sunday Boston Globe featured a multi-paged article that focused on obstructions along the ‘Boston Harbor Walk’. A closer inspection of the full page Boston Area map reveals what is really missing from the Boston walk; the salt marshes. The coastal salt marshes that once lined the shores surrounding "Old Boston" have almost been completely lost. Only two remnant marshes, Belle Isle marsh to the north and Neponset Salt marsh to the south, still exist from this once expansive marsh system.
 

  This reproduction of a 1775 map of Boston (32723, 12/7/92) is courtesy of the Boston Public Library Print Department.
 
 

  The city of Boston was founded in 1630 and was only a small peninsula consisting of approximately 470 acres of land (Teal & Teal 1969) surrounded by mudflats and approximately 70 acres of salt marsh found near the tip of the peninsula. At this time Boston was a virtual island connected to the mainland only by a narrow neck that we know today as Washington Street. Occasionally this "neck" would be overflowed by high tides thereby cutting Boston off from the mainland. Even the lowland of the North End was sometimes cut off by high tides.
 
 

This map showing the progression of the Boston landfills is taken from Wilkie & Tager's (1991) Historical Atlas of Massachusetts.
 
 

  The arrival of European colonists launched the process of Boston’s urbanization and ensuing loss of salt marsh habitat. Major landmaking projects dredged and filled the marshes and surrounding mud and sand flats in order to increase the capacity of Boston (Seasholes 1994). The majority of these projects were carried out in the early 19^th century (Seasholes 1994). At first, this process was slow and began with the construction of docks, wharves, and marinas for shipping. Often the land surrounding the wharves and docks was eventually filled, dredge material was regularly dumped into the coastal marshes, and trash was dumped nearby or directly into the marshes.

  In total, Boston gained about 2,055 acres of land as the direct result of filling surrounding low lands and salt marsh habitats (Teal & Teal 1969). Today’s "Boston and vicinity" is the product of filling West Cove, Mill Pond, South Cove, East Cove, South Bay, and Back Bay.
 
 

  The table below illustrates the progression of the Boston landfill projects and was compiled from the works of Seasholes (1994) and Wilkie &Tager (1991). For a detailed account of the Boston landfill projects and loss of salt marsh habitat, see "Landmaking and the Process of Urbanization: the Boston Landmaking Projects 1630’s - 1888" by Nancy Seasholes.

 
    Additional Historical Information: 

 ¹ West Cove used to be located by Charles Street at the foot of the Commons.
        At the end of the 1700’s the marsh in West Cove was filled to provide a safe area for Ropewalks.

 ² In 1643 Mill’s Cove became Mill Pond after the construction of a dam. In 1814 Mill Pond was filled
        and now makes up a large fraction of North Boston.

  ³ Approximately 400 acres of salt marsh was lost when Back Bay was filled.

  ⁴ East Boston was once called Noodle Island (see map).
 
 

This page was created by: Wendy Dalia
Last update: 5/26/98
Please note this page is under construction.