Rainsford Island

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Rainsford Island is a 21 acre island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated between Long Island and Peddocks Island. The island is composed of two drumlins, reaching an elevation of 49 feet above sea level. The shoreline is predominantly rocky with a sandy cove in the south side, and a variety of wildflowers abound. Access is by private boat only.^[1]

This island was named for one of earliest recorded settlers, Edward Rainsford, who owned a farm there as early as 1636. ^[2]

The island is known to have been used by Native American Indians and, during the colonial period, was occupied, farmed and grazed. Between 1737 and 1925 the island has served as a quarantine hospital, almshouse, veterans hospital, reform school and resort.

However only foundations and a dilapidated seawall still survive from these uses.^[1]

Rainsford Island hospital facilities were expanded and improved in the early 1800s. A huge Greek Revival-style building, the Stone Hospital or Greek Temple ^[3], was built in 1832 by Josiah Rogers. The Stone Hospital may have been designed by his brother, the American architect Isaiah Rogers, who was celebrated for his designs of the Boston and New York Merchants' Exchange, the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C., and the Tremont Hotel in Boston. ^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Rainsford Island Factsheet. Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Retrieved on July 29, 2006.
2. ^ Rainford Family information
3. ^ Grecian Temple on Rainsford Island
4. ^ cf. Claesson, 2001.

[edit] Bibliography

• "Rainsford Island: Resort to Reformatory", lecture by Ellen Berkland, Boston City Archeologist, Boston Landmarks Commission, and Elizabeth Carella, curator, Archives for Historical Documentation, Wednesday, May 14, 2003, held at the Old South Meeting House, Boston, Massachusetts.

"From a farm, summer resort, quarantine hospital, almshouse and a boy's reformatory to eventually an abandoned eleven acres, Rainsford Island in Boston Harbor has served many since its 1636 occupation by Edward Rainsford. Ellen P. Berkland, Boston City Archeologist, and Elizabeth Carella, Curator of Photography, present how one archeological field season and extensive documentary research shed light on the fascinating history of Rainsford Island. This slide lecture reviews the archeological and historic evidence and examines the ways in which the island has served the marginalized populations of Boston for decades."

• Claesson, Stefan, "Rainsford Island Archaeological Survey", Gulf of Maine Cod Project: History of Marine Populations, University of New Hampshire, 2001 (and continuing).

Coordinates: 42°18′43.10″N, 70°57′15.30″W