This is an early state of an important chart produced for publication in J.F.W. Des Barres' Atlantic Neptune folio. It depicts the coastline of Boston Bay from Salem Neck, North of Boston, down to Scituate Harbour in the South. The print places an emphasis on the features of the land rather than on navigation, although some depth soundings are included.
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Description
Des Barres compiled and published the chart in November 1776 but the surveys and drafts for this chart were likely completed between 1774 and 1775. They were undertaken by Samuel Holland's talented team of surveyors who in this case were likely led by Thomas Wheeler and James Grant. There is no detail or reference to military positions and fortifications.
Items of note on the chart include: 'Charles Bay' is what we now know as 'Back Bay'; The town of Weymouth is located the wrong side of the Fore River, closer to where Brantrey or Braintry (now Braintree) is located, but which is omitted from this map. The marking of the 'Pest House' [1] on Ransford's Island [2], situated south east of Long Island in Boston Bay.
The omission of a number of locations and names which one might expect from a survey completed by these men, especially considering the attention given to the detail of relief is surprising. It is likely that a good deal of information was excluded at the time of publication purely due to the haste with which the project was completed.
[1]. A 'Pest House' was a hospital or hostel used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, or smallpox. It would have been used for forcible quarantine, and was generally sited close to a cemetery or a waste pond for disposal of the dead or, in this case, on an island.
[2]. Ransford Island (now Rainsford) was formerly called 'Hospital Island' and is labelled as such on the Des Barres chart of 1775 depicting the 'Harbour of Boston' (see Heritage Charts A102 & A112), and the un-attributed 1769 'Chart of Boston Bay showing all of the islands, approaches and sand banks' (see Heritage Charts A107).
J.F.W. Des Barres
This is an early state of an important chart produced for publication in J.F.W. Des Barres' Atlantic Neptune folio. It depicts the coastline of Boston Bay from Salem Neck, North of Boston, down to Scituate Harbour in the South. The print places an emphasis on the features of the land rather than on navigation, although some depth soundings are included.
A114