HUB History - Our Favorite Stories from Boston History

January 1776 was a dark and scary time in Boston. By this time, the city had been on a wartime footing for nine months following the battles at Lexington and Concord the preceding April. The redcoats had transformed the city into an armed garrison, but they were outnumbered and cut off by the patriots who surrounded them in Roxbury and Cambridge. The Americans had the numbers, but the British had artillery regiments and the guns of the Royal Navy to dissuade a frontal assault on the city. Those Navy ships were a lifeline for the British troops, bringing in enough food and supplies to keep them alive, but only barely. Even though many residents had fled the town, leaving mostly loyalists behind, there was not enough food or firewood to go around. Things weren’t much better on the other side of the lines. The patriots had enough to eat, though they were usually gouged on the prices that winter. But they were spending the winter shivering in hastily-built barracks with no insulation and little firewood. They must have watched with some jealousy as the redcoats across the river tore down the meetinghouse in North Square to use the timber as firewood. On January 24, George Washington seethed in a letter to John Hancock, “no man upon Earth wishes more ardently to destroy the Nest in Boston, than I do—no person would be willing to goe greater lengths than I shall to accomplish It, If it shall be thought advisable—But If we have neither Powder to Bombard with, nor Ice to pass on, we shall be in no better situation than we have been in all the year.” Little did the general know that Boston’s salvation was just a day away. The next day, 25-year-old Henry Knox arrived in Cambridge with 60 tons of artillery in tow. Against all odds, he had managed to float, cart, and sled 59 cannons and mortars from Fort Ticonderoga, on the icy shores of Lake Champlain in upstate New York, over the Berkshire mountains, to the Continental headquarters in Cambridge. This week, we are going to revisit an interview that first aired in May 2020 with author William Hazelgrove about his book Henry Knox’s Noble Train and the audacious expedition that saved Boston 250 years ago this week. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/345/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory

With the British military occupying Boston and patriots laying siege to the city, conditions in Boston deteriorated in the early weeks of 1776, with shortages of food, firewood, insulation, and almost everything leading to desperate circumstances. Against this grim background, audiences flocked to a makeshift playhouse to watch Boston’s first season of theater, including a play called “The Blockade of Boston” that premiered 250 years ago this week, only to be interrupted by a real life attack on the British lines in Charlestown. Our first listener-guest, Dr. Susan Lester, joins us this week to describe what her research has revealed about the legality of theater in colonial Boston, the format of a typical 18th century performance, and even the identities of a few of the actors who tread the boards at Faneuil Hall in January 1776. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/344/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

Allan Rohan Crite was a world renowned artist who grew up in Boston’s South End in the early part of the 20th century. After enrolling in the Children’s Art Center and graduating from English High, he attended the MFA School and graduated in 1936. His work was first shown at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1936 and his first solo show at the Boston Athaneaum was in 1948. He went on to work at the Charlestown Navy Yard for over thirty years, while his paintings drew local and then national and international attention. During this time, he attended Harvard Extension School, where he earned an ALB degree in 1968. Looking at all of these experiences together, Allan Rohan Crite truly was a son of Boston, his work opening a window on the experience of Black Bostonians in the 30s, 40s, and beyond. If you are a lover of Boston history, you won’t want to miss the special exhibition of his work on view at the Boston Athenaeum through January 24 and at the Isabella Stuart Gardener Museum through January 19th. In this episode, Michelle Leblanc from the Athenaeum joins us to discuss the two wonderful exhibitions Crite’s work that are on display in Boston right now and what we can learn about Boston history from them. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/343/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In this episode, Nikki is joined by Ken Turino, a public history career professional and expert on the interpretation of Christmas at historic sites. This week, they’ll be talking about the Boston origins of some of our favorite Christmas traditions, like Christmas cards and Christmas trees. They will also be talking about Ken’s new book Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites, which offers practical guidance on how to use holiday cheer to engage interested visitors without alienating those who don’t celebrate. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/342/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

For the next few months, from December 2025 to about July of 2026, HUB History listeners are going to hear a lot less of host Jake. I will be stepping away temporarily to produce a six-episode podcast series for Queer History Boston. You may not recognize that name, because the organization was known as The History Project until a recent rebranding. Queer History Boston is a community archive that has been documenting, preserving, and sharing the LGBTQ+ histories of Boston and New England for over 45 years. A few months ago, we teamed up to apply for a grant from Mass Humanities and the Mass Cultural Council called “Expand Massachusetts Stories – Promises of the Revolution.” The grant program is meant to highlight stories of the American Revolution that usually go untold and highlight how marginalized groups have seized on the core promises made by the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the fundamental equality of all people, your basic promise of America. Our yet-to-be-named show will start with stories of queer and gender nonconforming veterans of the Revolutionary War itself, then follow subsequent generations of queer revolutionaries, right up to the first Pride parade in 1970. I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity, but it means I’m not going to have as much time for HUB History for a while. Luckily, you are going to be in incredibly capable hands while I am gone. Cohost emerita Nikki is going to rejoin the show for a while. If you listened to our show many years ago, back when HUB History was weekly, you’ll remember that Nikki used to anchor the podcast with me every week. Since leaving the show a few years ago, she has gone on to an incredible career at Old North Illuminated, where she has developed an incredible network of Boston history people. While I’m away, Nikki is going to interview authors, curators, rangers, and all kinds of interesting guests. The first of these conversations is coming up on December 14, when Nikki will interview Ken Turino about the history of Christmas in Boston and how historic sites in Boston and around the country can engage with Christmas in historically appropriate ways. Jake will be back to host a few episodes in the meantime, when time allows. And I’ll share updates about how my work with Queer History Boston is going when I do. If you have any questions or comments about these next few months, don’t hesitate to contact us!

By late November 1775, George Washington and the Continental Army encircling Boston faced a crisis: their soldiers were facing a frigid New England winter, their enlistments were expiring, and they were critically short of guns and gunpowder and essential supplies.  General Washington was desperate to strike the British before his army melted away, even contemplating the use of spears as a last resort against the world's most powerful military. The Continentals’ luck began to change when Washington commissioned a small squadron of six lightly armed schooners, the first American Navy, and ordered them to patrol New England waters. One of these schooners, the Lee, was commanded by a Captain John Manley of Marblehead. Operating under Washington's directive to harass enemy shipping, Captain Manley cleverly tricked and captured the British ordnance brigantine Nancy near Boston Harbor on November 29, 1775. This single ship that had strayed from the safety of a larger convoy proved to be an "immense acquisition" for the patriots, yielding a treasure trove of military stores: cannons, thousands of muskets, and perhaps most importantly, a cache of ammunition and gunpowder that, paired with Henry Knox’s noble train of artillery, would provide the Continentals with enough firepower to finally drive the British out of Boston. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/341/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

This will be our 2025 Thanksgiving episode, and nothing says Thanksgiving quite like football… At least for most people, I guess. Somehow, the gene for caring about football missed me. The last football game I saw was a Super Bowl, and cohost emerita Nikki remembered that Beyonce sang Formation that year, which means it must have been 2016. All that to say that if the new book Inventing the Boston Game: Football, Soccer, and the Origins of a National Myth can get me interested in the early history of football, it can do it for anyone. Inventing the Boston Game follows the story of a group of upper-class Boston private school boys who called themselves the Oneida foot ball club. During the height of the Civil War in 1862, they started playing a ball game on Boston Common. Authors Mike Cronin and Kevin Tellec Marston join us this week to discuss how generations have argued about whether their Boston Game was some of the first soccer in the US or the first organized American football team. Especially after a group of teammates placed a stone monument on Boston Common 100 years ago this week, it was clear that they were deliberately inserting themselves into American sports history, but a century later it is hard to tell how much of their shared mythology was true. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/340/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In this episode, we’ll revisit two murder trials that were held in revolutionary Boston. The first case was against four ordinary sailors accused of murdering an officer of the Royal Navy on a ship in Massachusetts coastal waters, and the other was against nine British prisoners of war who were accused of murdering a guard aboard a prison ship in Boston Harbor. The sailors were accused in 1769, when Boston was under military occupation and the tensions that would result in the Boston Massacre were coming to a head. The redcoats stood trial over a decade later, in the midst of a bloody war that had touched the lives of all Bostonians by 1780. In both cases, attorneys and judges worried whether a jury could deliver justice in a polarized city. Both cases were argued by signers of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams defending the American sailors in 1780 and Robert Treat Paine prosecuting the redcoats in 1780. In both cases, the defendants argued that they had acted in self defense, and amazingly, both cases ended in acquittal. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/339/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In October 1855, exactly 170 years ago this week, Boston hosted the third annual exhibition of the United States Agricultural Society, a grand five-day event that was lauded in the press as “a greater show of cattle and horses than has ever been given previously in the world.” Set on a newly created, fifty-acre fairground in the South End, the exhibition showcased Boston’s civic pride and economic power at a time when agriculture was still a primary driver of the American economy. While originally envisioned to showcase a range of crops, fruits, and agricultural implements, the Boston fair ultimately focused almost entirely on livestock and featured a significant amount of horse and harness racing, which was controversial in a city with a reputation for uptight conservatism. The event was promoted as a wholesome, family-friendly affair, with extensive amenities for women and children, deliberately distancing itself from the rough-and-tumble reputation of traditional cattle markets. The exhibition successfully attracted throngs of visitors, offered over $10,000 in cash prizes, and drew national attention, ultimately contributing to the popularity of harness racing in New England and strengthening the case for federal support of scientific agriculture. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/338/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

250 years ago today, a letter from George Washington revealed a devastating secret: there was a British spy at the highest level of patriot leadership. The traitor was none other than Dr. Benjamin Church, a man who seemed to embody the American cause. He was a Harvard-educated physician who had been appointed as our first surgeon general, he was a close confidant of leaders like Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren, and he was officially in charge of organizing the war effort as head of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. Church had risked his life for liberty and was trusted with the revolution’s deepest political and military secrets, but a coded letter, a secret mistress, and a suspicious baker would unravel a web of deceit that would make Benedict Arnold blush. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/337/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

This week’s guest is Michael Ansara, author of a new volume of memoir called The Hard Work of Hope. It is a personal story, but it’s also a history of Boston in the 1960s, and especially of anti-war activism at Harvard and organizing among the New Left political movement during the Vietnam era. Michael went from a middle class childhood in Brookline to the playground of the elites at Harvard, just at the historical moment when the civil rights movement entered mainstream consciousness and as the US government dramatically escalated the war in Vietnam. Michael remembers the chaos and fear of those times, but also the patriotism and the optimism of youth that drove so many of his contemporaries, and the relentless organizing it took to shape that youthful optimism into a political movement that had the potential to change the world, though that potential may not have been fully realized. In our conversation, he looks back on hard-won lessons learned and grapples with the question of how today’s organizers might save a democracy teetering on the brink. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/336/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In this episode, we will learn about two important developments in the siege of Boston 250 years ago this month, in September 1775.  First, we'll learn about the invasion of Quebec that Benedict Arnold launched out of Boston that month, in hopes of winning over Canadian hearts and minds.  If you have ever wondered why Canada isn’t part of the United States, we can probably chalk that up to Arnold’s ill-fated expedition, as well as the 150 years of conflict between Canadians and New Englanders that had gone before.  We will also learn about the riflemen who made up much of the invasion force.  Recruited from the backwoods of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and what’s now West Virginia, these exotic troops were treated as celebrities when they first arrived at the Continental camp in Cambridge, but the bloom was soon off the rose.  As we’ll hear, some of the riflemen staged the first mutiny in the Continental Army 250 years ago this week, until they were personally subdued by George Washington near Union Square in today’s Somerville.   Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/335/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

After the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, the siege of Boston reverted to a stalemate through the summer of 1775. While Benedict Arnold would lead some of the Continentals north from Cambridge into Canada and Henry Knox tried to wrestle Fort Ticonderoga’s cannons south from upstate New York to Cambridge, there was not a lot of action around Boston. Instead, as we’ll explore in this episode, the focus shifted to preparation, with riflemen from the far western frontier in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland joining the lines, with Continentals building new forts to consolidate their siege lines, and with the redcoats venting their frustrations on Boston’s Liberty Tree. We’ll also see how the new Continental commander in chief, George Washington, could barely be restrained from ordering a direct, frontal assault on the superior British force in Boston, even though there wasn’t enough ammunition in the Continental camp to go around. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/334/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In this episode, we go in search of a Black Bostonian who was “well known” to his contemporaries, including Boston newspapers, but who was all but forgotten by history. If not for a one-paragraph news article and work by historians to reconstruct aspects of his life from notarial records, we may not know the name Caesar Marion. In this somewhat brief episode, we’re going to look at why Mr. Marion was thrown into Boston’s notorious jail 250 years ago this week, and then we’ll compare his treatment inside British-occupied Boston with the experience of Black volunteers in the Continental Army outside Boston, once Virginia enslaver George Washington took command. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/333/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

In July 1775, the siege of Boston was approaching its peak, with the New England militias that had been surrounding Boston itself since April coalescing into the brand new Continental Army and the British dug in within the city to protect the vital harbor. 250 years ago this week, Continental officers planned a daring raid on Boston Harbor, essentially taking them deep into hostile territory, since the mighty Royal Navy ruled the waters. The objective of this raid, or rather raids, because there were two of them, was Boston Light. Marking the entrance to Boston Harbor since 1716, this humble lighthouse became an important strategic target, during a phase of the war where Britain’s presence in Boston was only possible because of a boatlift connecting their supply lines from Long Wharf to Newcastle and Plymouth in old England. We’ll also see how the tide of battle could turn on the back of the simple New England whaleboat, which proved itself to be the 18th century equivalent of a stealth fighter in these engagements. (Parts of this episode originally aired in 2021 as episode 227.) Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/332/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

A while back, my niece Sophie convinced me to watch the Disney live action musical Newsies. The 1992 film features an 18 year old Christian Bale as a homeless New York City newsboy who organizes an unauthorized strike against the biggest newspapers in the city. The story is peppered through with real names, like Joseph Pulitzer and Teddy Roosevelt, so I was pretty sure it was at least loosely based on a real story, and it made me wonder if Boston’s newsboys had ever gone on an equally adorable strike. I uncovered the story of a real-life newsboy strike in Boston in 1894, but it didn’t have that much in common with the movie. In the course of researching the 1894 strike, I learned a lot about newsboys as an emblem of child labor in Boston during the Progressive Era, at a time when reformers thought it better to provide protections that would legitimize child labor rather than eliminating it. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/3331/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

This week we celebrate another important anniversary in the lead up to America’s 250th birthday. On July 3, 1775, George Washington assumed command of the newly created Continental Army at their headquarters in Cambridge, and Mike Troy of the American Revolution podcast is going to tell us how it happened. Mike was our guest last week, but this week he’s allowing me to play clips from two of his classic shows. I’m going to play part of episode 64 of the American Revolution Podcast, which was titled “The Second Continental Congress Begins,” and all of episode 67, “Washington Takes Command.” Both these episodes originally aired on the American Revolution Podcast in the fall of 2018, and they will allow us to understand why the Continental Army was created, how George Washington was chosen as our first Commander in Chief, and the challenges Washington faced upon taking command in Cambridge 250 years ago this week. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/330/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

June 17th, 2025 will mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was the largest Revolutionary War battle to take place in the Boston area and the bloodiest battle of the war (at least on the British side). Following the outbreak of war in April, the siege of Boston soon became a stalemate, but until Bunker Hill, British officers expected the American provincial army to evaporate the first time they came face to face with the fearsome power of the King’s army. Fought over a year before America declared independence, Bunker Hill proved this assumption wrong, with the redcoats suffering devastating casualties, even though they defeated the Americans in a pyrrhic victory. In just a few minutes, I’m going to be joined by Mike Troy, host of the American Revolution Podcast. Together, we’re going to uncover where the battle was fought and how you can find traces of the battlefield in today’s Charlestown. We’ll look at the officers and men on both sides of the battle, and what the experience of battle was like for the untested American militia soldiers, as well as the lessons that both sides learned from the carnage of June 17, 1775. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/329/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

Instead of the 250th anniversary of an event from the American Revolution in Boston, we’re rewinding the clock 392 years to the spring of 1633, when the first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony was given the first fork in America. We’re going to explore why forks were unknown in Boston at that time, and indeed why they were unfamiliar in England until just a few years before. We’ll talk about why it took Boston over 100 years to fully embrace the idea of eating food with a fork, including changes to 17th century table manners and the belief that the fork was an inherently sinful utensil. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/328/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/

Over the past few episodes, we’ve seen how Massachusetts troops drove the British back from Concord and Lexington to Boston, then created elaborate siege lines that kept the redcoats bottled up in the city, while the Americans controlled the surrounding countryside. 250 years ago this week, the focus of the war shifted from land to sea, with the British leveraging the immense tactical advantage that their navy gave them in projecting power on the ocean and along the coast. To try to offset the hardship of the American siege, the British used their naval power to find food in the Boston Harbor Islands, first on Grape Island, near today’s Weymouth and Hingham, then at Noddles and Hog Islands, which form most of today’s East Boston. At Grape Island, the Americans put up a spirited but largely ineffective defense, but the skirmish we remember as the battle of Chelsea Creek became an important turning point for the Americans. This was the first operation where soldiers from different colonies worked together in a coordinated effort; the first time the rebellious New Englanders used artillery in battle; and the first time Americans engaged and actually captured a British warship. Full show notes: http://HUBhistory.com/327/ Support us: http://patreon.com/HUBhistory/