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THE PUBLIC GRANARY
IN April,
1728, the Town voted that “a Grainery be built on the Common, near the
Almshouse”; and that a sum not exceeding eleven hundred pounds sterling be
appropriated therefor. The location of this building was a little to the north
of the Park Street Subway entrance. In the year 1737, “to accommodate the
Workhouse, and to make the Appearance or Prospect the better,” the Granary was
removed to the corner of Long Acre Street, where the Park Street Church now
stands. The Granary was the most roomy edifice in the Town, occupying an area
of twenty-four hundred square feet. It was built of wood, with oaken rafters,
and had a storing capacity for twelve thousand bushels of grain, chiefly wheat,
rye, and Indian corn. It was a prominent landmark in Boston, and gave its name
to the adjacent Burying-Ground. At a meeting of the Selectmen, August 2, 1738,
it was reported that “the tar under the Granary heats the grain that lies on
the lower floor, and damnifies it; also that weevils have taken the corn, and
mice annoy the corn much, being very numerous.” The chief function of the
Granary was its service as a repository, where the poor might buy grain in
small quantities at a slight advance over its cost. In 1795 it was decided to
sell the building; but for some years thereafter it was occupied by various
tradespeople, and portions of it were devoted to the sale of refreshments, and
to the storage of second-hand furniture. Finally in 1809 the Granary was removed
to Commercial Point, Dorchester, where it was reconstructed and used as a
tavern. The sails for the famous frigate Constitution (which was launched in
October, 1797, at Hart’s Ship Yard, now Constitution Wharf) were made in the
Granary, which was the only available building large enough for the purpose.
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