Dorchester Historical Society

Dorchester Illustration no. 2254   Consumptives Home Grove Hall 

Scan of illustration from King’s Hand-Book of Boston. Boston: Moses King Corporation, 1889. 9th ed. The Text of King’s Hand-Book says that the Consumptives Home Grove Hall was incorporated in 1870, six years after it was founded by Dr. Charles Cullis, who is still the manager [in 1889].  By 1889 a new building had replaced the original.

Mary Roach, in her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers mentions that Dr. Duncan MacDougall in 1907 experimented at the Cullis Home to determine the weight of the human soul. He constructed a special bed in his office by arranging a light framework built upon very delicately balanced platform beam scales sensitive to two-tenths of an ounce. He experimented with six patients in the end stages of terminal illnesses and observed them before, during and after the process of death, measuring any corresponding changes in weight. He said that he found a loss of weight at the moment of death. MacDougall repeated the experiment with fifteen dogs and found no loss of weight. He concluded that the human soul had measurable mass. His work caused acrid debate at the time. See Roach’s book for a better description.

Dorchester House Tour a Success!

This year’s Dorchester House Tour, on Sunday, June 12, drew some 420 tourgoers to explore a dozen homes and carriage barns on Ashmont Hill as well as the beautifully restored All Saints Church.

I’m pleased to report that the tour was a resounding success, both as an initial effort by DHS to revive the tradition of showcasing Dorchester’s architecturally significant neighborhoods, and as a fundraiser for the Society’s building restoration fund.  We look forward to planning future tours, and we are eager to begin the much-needed repairs to the 1806 William Clapp House. Watch for more information in the months ahead.

The owners of the 12 homes and carriage barns that were open for the tour were joined by an additional 100 people who volunteered in those homes and at All Saints Church. Members of the DHS Board who served on the planning committee did everything from solicit sponsors and advertisers, to write copy, take photographs, and design printed materials, to coordinate volunteers, and much more. It was truly a team effort.

While many visitors were from Dorchester, they also came from other Boston neighborhoods and nearby suburbs. Some had connections to Ashmont Hill, and fond memories, while others had recently moved to Dorchester and were eager to see the neighborhood.  Visitors also came from farther away: from Salem, Concord, Bedford, Whitman, West Newbury, and Newport, RI, to name a few. Tourgoers expressed interest and delight in the houses, and appreciated the willingness of their owners to open their doors to strangers. Homeowners enjoyed sharing information and stories; several were asked, jokingly, if they would take reservations to stay.

We are grateful to the homeowners and all the volunteers, to the Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, to our sponsors and advertisers, to our media sponsor the Dorchester Reporter, and especially to the hundreds of people who came to discover or rediscover Dorchester, for making it a wonderful day in the neighborhood.

— Earl Taylor, president, Dorchester Historical Society