"...Bang...Bang...Bang... The the pounding of the ship-builders' hammers
echoes through the cold air. I wonder where the next ship will be heading.
I pray that these ships or any other ships built here in Medford have not
had anything to do with carrying slaves to this country..."
Shipbuilding started in Medford in the 1630's.
One earliest record of shipbuilding in Medford is from July 4, 1631 when Governor
John Winthrop launched a ship called the "Blessing of the Bay." The shipbuilding
center was located on Riverside Avenue, then called Ship Street. Altogether
there were five hundred and sixty-eight ships built here. Ship-building helped
develop Medford into what it is today.
