Winthrop, Massachusetts

Winthrop is a town located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 18,303.

History

Winthrop was first settled in 1635 and was officially incorporated in 1852. Winthrop was named after the first Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, and is the only Town in Suffolk County. It is located on a peninsula, at the beginning of the North Shore, with 7 miles of shore line that provides breathtaking views of the ocean to the East and of the Boston skyline to the West.

Related Topics:
1635 - 1852 - John Winthrop

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Originally part of an area called Winnesimmet by the Native Americans, the peninsula was annexed by Boston in 1632 and within 5 years became the grazing area for farm animals of the rapidly growing Boston colony. In 1637 it was divided into 15 parcels of land which were given by Governor Winthrop to prominent men in Boston with the stipulation that each must erect a building on his land within 2 years. Few, if any, of these men ever lived here but their farms prospered. One of these early houses, built initially during the first half of the 1600’s,and rebuilt in 1675, was the home of Governor Winthrop’s youngest son, Deane Winthrop, who lived there until his death in 1703. This house is still standing and is maintained, for public viewing, by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association.

Related Topics:
Boston - 1632 - 1637 - 1675 - Deane Winthrop - 1703

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In 1739, what is now Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop withdrew from Boston due to governmental control disputes and became the Town of Chelsea. Again the desire for more local control resulted in Revere and Winthrop seceding from Chelsea in 1846 to become North Chelsea. Shortly thereafter, in 1852, Winthrop was incorporated as a Town in its own right with a Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting form of government. In 1920, Winthrop was the second Town in the Commonwealth to apply for and receive a Charter for a Representative Town Meeting which has continued to date.

Related Topics:
1739 - 1846 - 1852 - 1920

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Deer Island is located in Winthrop Bay and actually ceased to be an island in the 1930's when Shirley Gut, which separated it from Winthrop, was filled in. The island has a sordid past as an internment camp for Indians during King Philip's War, a quarantine station where many immigrants died, and the site of a state prison. Today the island is home to a mammoth sewage treatment plant for the Boston area.

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