Dorchester Heights - Nooks Hill (Foster's)

Boston and The Dual-Powered King of the South

Dorchester Heights - Nooks Hill (Foster's)

Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States

Created By: Volunteer JW Boston

Information

There is an NPS plaque here on the side of the building to the right of the door.

There were two colonial fortifications in this area, this site was the smaller one, and the major one was where Dorchester Heights Monument is now. Anything North and East of this spot was all marshlands.

This site was known also as Nook's Hill, Newks, or Nuke's Hill, Foster's Hill (Foste in the map link). It rose a hundred or so feet into the air over the channel between Dorchester and Boston's Neck. While not the highest point of Dorchester Heights, Foster's Hill overlooked the Boston Neck and provided a direct view of the town’s wharves and shoreline. Due to that location, General George Washington ordered the top of the hill fortified on March 9, 1776.

During the effort to fortify the hill, British soldiers in Boston saw light from a campfire set by the Continentals and unleashed their cannons upon the site. The four men stationed there became the only casualties for George Washington in South Boston. This also meant that it was too close and so they set the main fortifications where the Dorchester Heights Monument is now.

(Video is mostly for the main fortification on Twin Hills as well as the army and artillery)

-Source Links-

https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/siege-of-boston-map.htm

https://www.nps.gov/places/foster-s-hill.htm

This point of interest is part of the tour: Boston and The Dual-Powered King of the South


 

Leave a Comment

 


 

Download the App

Download the PocketSights Tour Guide mobile app to take this self-guided tour on your GPS-enabled mobile device.

iOS Tour Guide Android Tour Guide

 


 

Updates and Corrections

Please send change requests to changerequest@pocketsights.com.