The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere! (Part VI)

From Dave Brigham:

Around the Backside office, the piece of prose you're currenty reading is known as the "outliers post." Whereas the previous installments in my series of shorts about Revere, Mass., were held together by geography, this one features destinations flung around the city. For links to the previous posts, see the bottom of this one.

Located just east of Route 1A on Butler Street, the Rumney Marsh Burying Ground is one of the oldest cemeteries in the country.

"The first known burial traces back to 1693 when the wife of Captain John Smith (a different Smith, not of Pocahontas fame) was buried in a plot at the cemetery," according to this blog post. "The Captain joined his wife there some years later. While burials continued at the site from that time forward, it was not until 1748 that the land was officially willed to the town for use as a cemetery by Joshua Cheever, son of the town’s first known teacher."

The cemetery is so called because the area now known as Revere was known to early European settlers as Rumney Marsh. While the burial ground is relatively small, it contains the remains of many well-known early residents of this area. Among those buried here are Deane Winthrop, son of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Thomas Pratt, for whom the current day Prattville neighborhood in Chelsea is named; Revolutionary War hero Samuel Sprague; and Lewis Bullard, an Army veteran whose 1929 burial represents the last interment of the cemetery. This site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2004.

Less than a mile away, along Route 16 hard by Mill Creek, is an old spice mill that's in pretty good shape.

The Slade Spice Mill buildings date to 1823, although, due to multiple fires, this place has been rebuilt (using some of the original timbers) a handful of times. The first structure erected on this site, in 1734, was a grist mill, according to MACRIS. "The 1734 mill was destroyed in 1795 and rebuilt c. 1823," MACRIS continues. "It was burned in 1895, 1901 and 1902, and each time was rebuilt on the same spot." It was a tide mill, which means the tide provided its power.

The mill was used over the centuries to grind corn, snuff, cinnamon and other spices. "By an ancient provision in the original charger (sic), it must at all times hold itself ready to grind corn for any citizen of Chelsea, provided the corn is Chelsea raised!" according to this blog post from the Tide Mill Institute.

The mill was in operation until 1976. In the early years of this century, a group undertook renovations. I'm not sure what's located here now.

Standing in front of the old mill and looking east over the Chelsea River and the railroad tracks, you can almost see my next destination on Railroad Street, a newer mill building.

Located in an industrial wedge of land between the railroad tracks, Winthrop Avenue, Route 1A and Chelsea Creek, this old factory building seems to be mostly vacant.

"The Mill Store Building, a large multi-story factory building, is the marquee feature of the Railroad District," according to Next Stop Revere, a draft master plan for the City of Revere by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. "While Air Freight Specialties is currently located in the building, it is unclear if all the building floors are in use and what condition they are in. Anecdotal reports indicate that the cell towers on the building's roof are its most valuable asset."

According to that 2020 report, this area has been designated by the City for marijuana cultivation and distribution. I've been unable to find out the industrial history of this place. At some point, there was a mill store located within.

A few miles away, at the northeast tip of Revere in the Point of Pines neighborhood, I sought out a place the likes of which I've never featured on the blog.

While I have featured boats, marinas and boat clubs, I have never showcased a boat yard on the Backside.

"The structure housing Fred A. Kittredge Boat Builders, 7 Thayer Avenue...is a steel-frame building with a brick exterior," according to MACRIS. "There are oversized steel, multi-light windows and tall wooden doors on the gable end."

I assume boats were stored and repaired here, and perhaps even built. There doesn't seem to be much marine-related activity here nowadays.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the final piece on Revere, which is about the world-famous beach. Below are links to the previous posts.

August 10, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part V)"

August 7, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part IV)"

August 3, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part III)"

July 31, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part II)"

July 27, 2024, "The Backside is Coming! The Backside is Coming - to Revere (Part I)"