jan 1, 1814 - 1814 Mill Dam

Description:

In 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation built the Boston & Roxbury Mill Dam across the back bay. The dam was intended to harness the power of the tides to create energy for potential mills.

Developers also built a toll road on top of the dam. This road bypassed the narrow land bridge, called Boston Neck, that was Boston’s only connection to the mainland at the time.

Once again, the contractors did not consider the environment impact of the dam and the bay soon became dirty and stagnant.

The project was also a financial disaster due to greatly underestimated construction costs. Developers originally predicted the project would only cost $250,000 but it ended up costing $700,000.

To further compound the problem, only three mills were ever built near the damn, which brought in a measly $6,000 in annual revenue.

Realizing that the state of the bay was a considerable problem, the city began filling in the 700 acres of the bay in 1857.