Boston Was The First U.S. City To Do These 10 Things

As one of the country's oldest cities, it is no wonder that Boston has paved the way for innovation and progress in America.

The following are just a small sampling of the wonderful things Boston has introduced to the United States.

1. Boston was the first city in the country to have a chocolate factory.

The Baker Chocolate Factory was located in the Lower Mills part of Dorchester. The building has since been converted into luxury condos overlooking the Neponset River. They have preserved the name and some of the historical integrity of the original factory.

 

2. The first Dunkin’ Donuts shop was established in Quincy.

There's a reason Bostonians are "hooked on Dunkin'." The very first store opened its doors in Quincy nearly 70 years ago in 1950.

 

3. Revere Beach was "America’s First Public Beach."

The three mile stretch of beach that is now the site of the famous Annual Sand Sculpting Festival became America's first public beach in 1896. 

 

4. Boston Common was the first public park in the U.S.

Established in 1634, the 50 acres that house the Frog Pond and Make Way For Ducklings statues make up the oldest city park in the United States.

5. The first botanical garden in the country was the Boston Public Garden.

Established more than 200 years after Boston Common, the Public Garden became the first public botanical garden in America in 1837.

 

6. Boston had the nation's first subway.

Boston's first subway, the Tremont Street Subway, is the oldest subway tunnel in North America and the third oldest in the world. On September 1, 1897, the system's first day open to the public, more than 100,000 people took a ride.

 

7. The first lighthouse in the U.S. was constructed on a Boston island.

Built on Little Brewster Island in 1716, Boston Light remains the oldest continuously used lighthouse site. However, the original structure was rebuilt in 1783 due to damage caused by the British at the end of the Revolutionary War. 

 

8. Harvard was the first college established in the U.S.

Named after clergyman, John Harvard, the prestigious college was established in 1636.

 

9. The first successful telephone call was made in Boston.

On March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell "called" Thomas Watson from a different room in their Boston lab. Bell spoke the words: "Watson, come here. I want to see you."

 

10. Ether was first demonstrated in Boston.

This powerful anesthetic changed the surgical field radically when it was used by dentist, William Morton during a tumor removal at Mass General Hospital in 1846. The Ether Dome proudly remains on the hospital campus to this day.

 

H/T to OnlyInYourState.com