In 1869, an eccentric entrepreneur and musical visionary built one of the largest buildings in 19th Century Boston. It was a concert hall with twice the capacity of the modern TD garden, and it was built to house the largest musical spectacular the world had ever seen up to that point. It was the Boston Coliseum, built to house the Grand National Peace Jubilee celebrating the end of America’s Civil War.
Jubilee Days
- Patrick Gilmore’s 700 page memoir of the 1869 Peace Jubilee.
- A History of the Wind Band by Dr Stephen L Rhodes.
- “Big Boom in Boston,” by Rufus Jarman, American Heritage, October 1969
- American Music Preservation on the Boston Peace Jubilees.
- A satirical letter to the editor of Mose Skinner’s Great Peace Festival and Pow-Wow.
- William Dean Howells reviews the 1869 Jubilee in the Atlantic Monthly.
- Souvenir medal from the 1869 Jubilee.
- Library of Congress blog post comparing Republican and Democratic opinions of the 1869 Jubilee.
- An illustrated magazine of the 1872 Jubilee.
- Map showing the location of the 1872 Jubilee.
- Looking for a children’s book version of this week’s story? Check out Jubilee! One Man’s Big, Bold, and Very, Very Loud Celebration of Peace by Alicia Potter with illustrations by Matt Tavares.
Featured Historic Site
Back when Somerville was still part of Charlestown, it played host to a tense standoff that was part of the runup to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. As we discussed back in Episode 76, tensions between the royal government of Massachusetts and its disaffected citizens grew throughout 1774. As violence began to seem inevitable, Governor Thomas Gage realized that perhaps the concept of each town maintaining its own militia with its own arms wasn’t exactly a great idea at that moment.
When he got word that the local militias had removed their gunpowder from the powderhouse in Charlestown, Gage decided to act. On September 1, he dispatched a party of 260 soldiers to row up the Mystic river from Boston then march to the far reaches of Charlestown in order to seize the remaining powder, which technically belonged to the King. Soon after sunrise, the troops under Colonel Mattison had completed their task, and they were on their way back to Boston, where the powder would be stored at Fort William on Castle Island.
The whole operation was carried out in near secrecy, without a shot being fired. However, of word of the march spread around the colony, thousands of colonial militiamen began streaming into Cambridge from all over Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. While hostilities were avoided for the moment, colonial leaders vowed that if Gage’s men undertook a similar march in the future, they would stand ready to oppose him with arms. Just a few months later, war would break out when Gage’s troops attempted to march on Concord.
Today, the Powderhouse is located at Powderhouse Square in West Somerville, near the Tufts campus. It’s a stone tower with a pointed roof that looks kind of like a bishop from an off brand chess set. While it’s always a treat to visit, most people never get a chance to look inside. However, we got a nice note from a listener after featuring Prospect Hill, another Somerville historic site, just a couple of weeks ago. Mary is a docent for city-owned historic sites in Somerville, and she let us know about an upcoming event where you can learn a bit more of the history, while getting a tour of this historic structure:
If you want to see inside the Powder House, our last opening this season is Saturday Oct 27, 10-noon (weather permitting). We wait over by at the Powder House building to greet folks who want to see it. It’s set back from the street, so come up the hill. We are in colonial outfits, so you’ll spot us.
And we have a short presentation that runs through the history of the site (maybe 15min or so). We’ll start whenever we have a bunch of folks. There’s no specific tour time. Just come between 10 and noon, as long as it’s not raining.
PS: It’s bigger on the inside.
Upcoming Event
On Wednesday, October 17th, writer Kate Clifford Larson will be speaking at the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford. Larson is the author of Bound for the Promised Land, a 2004 biography of Harriet Tubman. Here’s how the Royall House describes the book and event:
Harriet Tubman is one of the giants of American history—a fearless visionary who led scores of her fellow slaves to freedom and battled courageously behind enemy lines during the Civil War. Drawing from a trove of primary documents as well extensive genealogical research, Kate Clifford Larson’s “Bound for the Promised Land” reveals Tubman as a complex woman—brilliant, shrewd, deeply religious, and passionate in her pursuit of freedom.
The descendant of the vibrant, matrilineal Asanti people of the West African Gold Coast, Tubman was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of Maryland but refused to spend her life in bondage. While still a young woman she embarked on a perilous journey of self-liberation—and then, having won her own freedom, she returned again and again to liberate much beloved family and friends, tapping into the Underground Railroad.
Since writing the first adult biography of Tubman, historian Kate Clifford Larson has consulted with numerous public history initiatives related to Harriet Tubman’s life and her role in the Underground Railroad. Larson is the author of several other biographies, as well.
At this expanded book talk, she’ll discuss new scholarship about Tubman—including the recently discovered portrait of her as a young woman—and ongoing efforts to memorialize this brave hero in her native Maryland and in New York state.
The Royall House is located at 15 George Street in Medford, and if you’ve never been there, you’re missing out. The event will begin at 7:30pm on Wednesday, October 17. Admission is $10, unless you’re a member of the Royall House.