Great explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Boston's Official
Christmas Tree

On the morning of December 6, 1917 a French cargo ship loaded with munitions collided in Halifax, Nova Scotia's harbor with another vessel filled with supplies for the war effort (WWI). The resultant explosion killed over 1,900 people and thousands more were wounded. This accidental explosion is still considered one of the greatest man-made non-nuclear explosions ever created.

Relief efforts were marshaled from all over eastern Canada and a special train filled with medical personnel and much needed supplies was sent from Boston to provide further aid. This gesture of goodwill from the people of Boston has never been forgotten in Nova Scotia. For the past 37 years the people of Nova Scotia have been donating a tree to the City of Boston to become the city's official Christmas tree.

These Christmas trees are between 40-50 feet high and are specially chosen from trees grown in Nova Scotia for proper appearance and are donated by private individuals. This years Christmas tree is a 46-foot white spruce which was dedicated in a joint City of Boston/Nova Scotia official lighting ceremony on the Boston Common December 4, 2008.

The British Army returns to Boston

British Officers in war council

This weekend (August 15-17) the British Army returns to Boston. The last time the British were here, back in March of 1776, relations between Britain and America were somewhat strained. Things have improved since then and today the relationship between the United States and Great Britain has never been better.

The City of Boston and the Freedom Trail Foundation working together with the Parks Department, are allowing Revolutionary War reenactors to recreate something that hasn't been seen since 1776: a British military encampment on Boston Common. The recreated British units participating include: the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, the 5th Regiment of Foot, His Majesty's 10th Regiment, the 9th Regiment, the 21st Foot RNBF and the 24th. Members of the 4th Regiment of Foot, the King's Own, will also be on hand this weekend.

A full schedule has been planned to include musket firing and drill, a mock skirmish with Colonial Militia and a evening march through the city to the Union Oyster House restaurant. An 11:00 a.m. color ceremony, that will involve both local and British dignitaries, will take place on Saturday to mark this event.

William Blaxton

William Blaxton Plaque
Beacon St.
Boston, Mass.

The Reverend William Blaxton (1595-1675) was the first European settler on the Shawmut peninsula - the future site of the Town of Boston. The peninsula was dominated by three large hills overlooking forested land, a protected harbor and a river (the Charles) that emptied into a marshy estuary. Connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, Shawmut was quite secluded and private - which, according to old accounts, was just how Rev. Blaxton liked it.

An Anglican Minister, educated at Cambridge in England, Blaxton arrived in the New World in 1623 with a group of settlers. When his fellow travelers moved back to England in 1625, Blaxton stayed on and settled onto Shawmut, living by himself. In 1629 Puritan settlers, seeking to establish a Massachusetts Bay Colony, arrived in what is now Charlestown - just across the harbor from Shawmut. Founding a viable community in that location proved to be difficult due to a lack of drinking water.

The official version of what happened next is that in 1630 Reverend Blaxton invited his new neighbors to come share the peninsula with him. At this time Shawmut consisted of some 487 acres of land, so there was plenty of room. John Winthrop, the governor of the colony, then made a deal with Blaxton buying the rights to the land, but leaving him with some 45 acres. This acreage encompassed a portion of Beacon Hill and the Boston Common.

In 1634, finding the Puritans difficult to live with - they were fervent believers in religious intolerance - Blaxton ended up selling his land back to them. The Boston Common (land) was thereby established and used for the training of militia and the grazing of cattle. After the sale Rev. Blaxton headed south and built a home in what is now part of Rhode Island.

Roger Williams was yet another refugee from Governor Winthrop's "city on a hill" who headed for Rhode Island. The two men became friendly and the Reverend Blaxton often gave sermons to Williams flock. Blaxton lived in a solitary house on a hill overlooking a river and filled the home with books. He married late in life and had one child. Blackstone Massachusetts, the Blackstone River and its valley are all named after him.