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Telegraph
Hill
History
As long as the memory of one endured, not a passenger
went by without adding a stone to the heap. To this monument
there is a proverbial saying alluding to this old practice.
Curri mi cloch er do charne. I will add a stone to your
cairn, meaning when you are no more I will do all possible
to honor your memory.
This natural
drumlin has been assaulted by numerous activities throughout
history. The natural forest cover may have been destroyed
by both Native Americans and by 17th century settlers. In
the 18t
h century, farming operations may have altered the
topography. Later, the building of fortifications for the
Revolutionary War in 1776 and the War of 1812 probably involved
cleaning and excavation of the site. In the 1830’s,
soil from Dorchester Heights may have been used as fill
to reclaim land from tidal flats. In 1849, major excavation
on the eastern portion of the drumlin occurred with the
construction of the South Boston Reservoir. The crest of
the hill was lowered by more than six feet during the 1850’s
to create Dorchester Heights and Thomas Park. In 1899, the
South Boston Reservoir was destroyed, with the exception
of the western part of the embankment, and on its site South
Boston High School was constructed. The present monument
was erected between 1900 and 1902. In more recent times,
the power of the hill has continued to be assaulted. There
has been conflict over court ordered busing, gays marching
in the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, and white supremacists
holding rallies on the High School steps.
The energies
at Dorchester Heights need to be restored. The joint landscaping
of South Boston High School and Monument Grounds was never
completed. The existing terrace that is still visible, the
unsightly slope (No Man’s Land) between the monument
and the High School, breaks the energy.
An ancient Celtic
tradition was to build cairns, piles of stones, and stone
circles as memorial markers of special occasions. Another
Irish tradition is the telling of stories. As long as one
person remembered the story of a person, place, or thing,
the person, place or thing continued.
On August 10,
1996, two hundred people participated in the telling of
their stories and in the building of a stone spiral on the
slope of No Man’s Land. Some of these stones were harvested
from Carson Beach. Following the building of the circle,
I continued to leave a pile of stones at the bottom of the
hill inviting people to leave one in the circle. Each day,
when I walked my dogs, the stones had been thrown down the
hill by a group of teenagers. They asked me if I was going
to call the police on them. My reply was no, that I was
just going to pick up the stones. They responded that they
would continue to throw them. There was great comfort that
we were all being true to our natures.
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