Shawmut Peninsula is thepromontory of land on whichBoston,Massachusetts was built. Thepeninsula, originally a mere 789 acres (3.19 km2) in area,[1] more than doubled in size due toland reclamation efforts that were a feature of thehistory of Boston throughout the 19th century.
Like much of theMassachusetts landscape, the peninsula was shaped byglacial erosion andmoraine deposits left by retreating glaciers at the end of the lastice age.[1] When Europeans arrived, Shawmut was thickly forested.[1] The pre-settlement topography of the peninsula was marked by three hills: Copps Hill, in what is now theNorth End; Fort Hill, in today'sFinancial District; and the Trimountain, today'sBeacon Hill district. Of the three hills, the Trimountain was by far the largest, a steep-sided mass with three summits. Its name was eventually shortened to Tremont. To the south was a narrowisthmus namedBoston Neck that connected the peninsula to the mainland site ofRoxbury, now a neighborhood of Boston.[citation needed]
The name is derived fromMashauwomuk, anAlgonquian word of uncertain meaning. The first recorded use of "Shawmutt" to describe the peninsula occurs in 1630, by the lone settlerWilliam Blackstone,[2] in an invitation toJohn Winthrop to move the site of Winthrop's colonial settlement to the peninsula from what is nowCharlestown. The Charlestown peninsula lacked a source of fresh water, while the Shawmut peninsula had an "excellent spring" on the north side of what is nowBeacon Hill.[3]
Reclamation projects began in 1820 and continued intermittently until 1900 and created the Boston neighborhoods of theSouth End,Back Bay, andFenway-Kenmore. TheBack Bay Fens, afreshwaterurban wild in the latter area, is a remnant of thesalt marshes that once surrounded Shawmut Peninsula.
Although this project eliminated thewetlandecosystem that existed there at the time and would be impossible under modernenvironmental regulations, it was considered a great boon to the community for two reasons. Firstly, it eliminated the foul-smellingtidal flats that had becomepolluted withsewage. Secondly, it created what is now some of the most valuable real estate inNew England.[citation needed]
42°21′28″N71°03′34″W / 42.35778°N 71.05944°W /42.35778; -71.05944