Nine things to know about Charlestown

Think that Boston was always the hub of the region? Not exactly. In fact, Charlestown, first settled in 1629 (a year before Boston), was technically the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When the Puritans found Charlestown to be without clean water, William Blackstone, Boston's first European settler, charitably extended a welcoming hand to John Winthrop and his flock, a scene depicted by the Founders Monument on Boston Common.
Globe Staff Photo / John Tlumacki
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Think that Boston was always the hub of the region? Not exactly. In fact, Charlestown, first settled in 1629 (a year before Boston), was technically the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. When the Puritans found Charlestown to be without clean water, William Blackstone, Boston's first European settler, charitably extended a welcoming hand to John Winthrop and his flock, a scene depicted by the Founders Monument on Boston Common.