Rainsford Island

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 convert|49|ft|m 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.cite web| title = Rainsford Island Factsheet | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/factsheet_template.asp?rsIslands__MMColParam=rain | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessdate = July 29 | accessyear = 2006]

This island was named for one of earliest recorded settlers, Edward Rainsford, nephew of Richard Raynsford and a descendant of King Henry III of England [ [http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=jweber&op=SHOW&surname=Rainsford%2C+Edward+%2C+Elder+of+Old+South+Church&ti=&track= Ancestors & Descendants of Edward Rainsford] ] ; he owned the island by 1632.

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.cite web| title = Rainsford Island Factsheet | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/factsheet_template.asp?rsIslands__MMColParam=rain | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessdate = July 29 | accessyear = 2006]

Rainsford Island hospital facilities were expanded and improved in the early 1800s. A huge Greek Revival-style building, the Stone Hospital or Greek Temple [ [http://aritek.com/hartgen/vignettes/1421-0.htm Grecian Temple on Rainsford Island] ] , 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. [cf. Claesson, 2001.]

References

Bibliography

* [http://forum.wgbh.org/wgbh/forum.php?lecture_id=1252 "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 [http://www.oldsouthmeetinghouse.org/ 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."

* [http://fishhistory.org/publicBio.php?bio=5 Claesson, Stefan] , [http://fishhistory.org/project_rainsford.php "Rainsford Island Archaeological Survey"] , Gulf of Maine Cod Project: History of Marine Populations, University of New Hampshire, 2001 (and continuing).