Boston, Massachusetts

City with a population of 609,023 in 2008: largest city in the state. Historic capital of Massachusetts. Founded in 1630 by Puritan colonists who created the Massachusetts Bay Colony here, of which Boston was the capital until the colony was made part of the Massachusetts Colony in 1691. Named for the city of Boston in England.

The American Revolution largely had its beginnings here. The famous ride of Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre marked the city as the nerve center of the colonial rebellion. The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought here at the beginning of the Revolutionary War when the British attempted to break through the American Siege of Boston.

In the 19th century Boston became a major shipment and manufacturing point. Officially incorporated as a city in 1822. It was settled by waves of immigrants in the mid 19th century.

Today Boston is a center of education, culture, and political thought.

www.cityofboston.gov/visitors/