Dorchester Illustration 2591 Arch for Jay’s Treaty
Today’s illustration is a drawing of the arch erected at Lower Mills in 1798.
The late Rev. Daniel Dunn was pastor of Saint Margaret’s Church and a past president of the Dorchester Historical Society. He wrote an article in 1973, published in the Dorchester Reporter on June 4, 2015, in which he mentioned the arch erected at Lower Mills in 1798.
“Proceeding to the official starting point, the cars will cross the Neponset River at the spot where the Federal Triumphal Arch was erected in 1798, to commemorate the ratification of Jay’s Treaty. In letters of gold, the arch proclaimed the sentiments of the citizens, ‘We unite in defense of our country and its laws – 1798.’ On August 9 of that year, President John Adams, who was en route from Washington to his home in Quincy was escorted through the arch by the Boston Cavalry. The wind storm in 1815 destroyed the arch.
The 1859 History of the Town of Dorchester mentions the arch, and that is likely one of the sources used by Rev. Dunn. Another was likely the 1896 publication, Major John Lillie. 1755-1801. The Lillie Family of Boston. 1663-1896. By Edward Lillie Pierce.