Revere, another time, the 17 & 18 hundreds, cattle and cowboys! The 21st century Revereite probably cant reconcile the Revere of today once having an abundant amount of cattle, but it did. Starting when Revere was once a part of Boston there is mention of cattle and other live-stock being present here. Shurtleffs history, published in 1938, quotes a 1730 document as follows: Cow Bridge was where the county brook crossed the County Road on what is now School Street near Mountain Avenue [which is today East Mountain Ave. and where the present RHS is] by the clay pitts. For many years cows were driven there for water, of which there was plenty in those days. That would imply the men who drove them there would of been cowboys. It has also been reported that what we currently know as the junction of Beach & School Streets, plus Central Avenue was once a large watering hole for local cattle driven there by cowboys. In those early days the town would sometimes conduct periodic census of people and live-stock. Data is available for the ensuing census years: 1760, 49 horses, 61 oxen, 213 cows. 1872, 192 horses & 145 cows. 1880, 245 horses & 208 cows. The 1872 & 1880 census more accurately reflect what is present day Revere. As an interesting aside some of these census reports listed the number of slaves living in Revere --- likewise I find it difficult to reconcile slavery in the Revere I grew-up in. Today the city has no cows --- in the last 90 years I think the nearest we came to having cows would of been the plastic heard that once grazed in front of the Hilltop! Since Wally Wards North Revere stables closed Suffolk Downs would be the nearest location for horses and now theyre gone. Things do change, but Revere remembers its cattle and cowboys.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 21:45:57 +0000
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