Fox Hill

Fox Hill Plaque, 1925, marks the site of what was once the prominent gravelly bluff projected westward and overlooked marshlands. During the occupation of Boston, 1775 – 1776, the hill was fortified by the British.

The exact site of the hill became lost because its location and shape changed from one 18th century map to another. Some maps, for example, showed Fox Hill as an island. In 1960, the roots of the hill were exposed in the deep excavation for the underground garage at the foot of the Common, and its location was pinpointed. Its height is estimated to have been about 20 feet above tide level. Clearly, Fox Hill had not been an island, but from the earliest time it appears to have been a source of sand for anyone wanting a small quantity for fill, mortar, or whatever purpose. The selectmen of Boston repeatedly inveighed against raiding the hill, which was town common land. The practice of digging away at the hill persisted, nevertheless, and generally at night. Strangers from Cambridge across the river are repeatedly mentioned in minutes of the meetings of the Board of Selectmen as stealing skiff-loads of sand. The reduced state of the hill by 1764 is clearly visible in the drawing by Lt. Byron made from the top of West Hill. (see usgs link)

-Source Links-

https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1476/report.pdf Page 45-48

https://topsfieldhistory.org/BookClub/Massacre/Interior%20Boston%20map%20from%20Hindraker-2.pdf

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