New FieldsSocial & Religious InstitutionsWar An eighteenth century drawn map, showing streets, pastures, and a church at the corner of Cambridge and Lynde streets.

Boston’s Original West Church: A Revolutionary Meetinghouse

The original West Church, a wood-framed structure erected in 1737 at the corner of Cambridge and Lynde Streets, played a significant role in Revolutionary-era Boston. At this site, minister Jonathan Mayhew preached for civil liberties and resistance to tyranny, influencing prominent patriots such as John Adams and Paul Revere. The church was used as barracks by British troops during their occupation of the city and its steeple was destroyed by British forces in 1775. Severely damaged during the Revolutionary War, the original West Church was taken down and the current Old West Church was built in 1806.

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ImmigrationNeighborhood LifeSocial & Religious InstitutionsWest Boston Photograph of a bronze plaque mounted to a wall with following words: October 1788, October 1973, IN GRATITUDE TO ALMIGHTY GOD, FOR THE FIRST MASS OFFERED IN THE WEST END OF BOSTON, ON GREEN STREET (VERY CLOSE TO THIS EXACT SITE) AT THE HOME OF M. BAURY, ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1788 BY L’ABBE DE POTERIE. THIS PLAQUE WAS GIVEN IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE BY: REV. GERALD L. BUCKE P.P. & THE JACKMAN FAMILY

The West End Hosts the First Catholic Service in Boston

After centuries of exclusion by Boston’s ruling Puritan leaders, Roman Catholics were finally allowed to officially practice their faith in Massachusetts in 1780. Led by French Catholics, the movement to establish a Catholic community in Boston is reported to have started with a private mass in the West End. This was the first step in establishing what would become one of the most recognized Catholic archdiocese in America.

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