Dorchester Illustration of the Day no. 1962
The granary building was a storehouse for equipping ships at Commercial Point. It was called the granary because it was built from materials that came from the granary building formerly occupying the site of the present Park Street Church in Boston. In 1832 a syndicate was formed for the prosecution of the whale and cod fisheries at Commercial Point, comprised of Messrs. Nathaniel Thayer, a brother of John E. e founder of the house of the well-known firm of Kidder, Peabody, & Co.; Mr. Elisha Preston, of Dorchester, who was the senior partner of the firm of Preston & Thayer; Mr. Josiah Stickney, a well-known Boston merchant; and Mr. Charles O. Whitmore, of the firm of Lombard & Whitmore, whose residence was near the Point, and who acted as on-shore manager for the vessels composing the fleet. This syndicate equipped four vessels for the whale fishery, and twenty schooners, of which two–the Belle and the Preston–were built at the Point. The syndicate purchased not only the wharf, but quite a tract of land in its immediate vicinity, where they put flakes for the drying of their codfish. They also built some cooper-shops and the storehouse shown in the photograph for the supply of sailors’ outfits and ship chandlery.
____
The Dorchester Illustration of the Day (DIOTD) is sent weekdays. If you receive this e-mail by mistake, please reply to be taken off the e-mail list. If you know others who would like to receive the daily e-mail, please encourage them to join the group by going to http://groups.google.com/group/dorchester-historical-society. You may contact Earl Taylor at ERMMWWT@aol.com
If you value receiving the DIOTD, please express your appreciation by making a donation to the Dorchester Historical Society, either by regular mail at 195 Boston Street, Dorchester, MA 02125, or through the website at www.DorchesterHistoricalSociety.org