Greenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Revere

 

Greenwood Nursing and Rehab is proud to serve the city of Revere. Revere’s first inhabitants were Native Americans who belonged to the Pawtucket tribe and were known as the Rumney Marsh Indians. The leader, or sachem, of the Pawtuckets was Nanepashemet of Lynn. In 1616, an epidemic, probably smallpox, swept the region, killing thousands in its wake. Nanepashemet retired to the Mystic River, in what is now Medford, but was found murdered in 1619 at his fort on the brow of Rock Hill overlooking the river. Three sons succeeded him in his reign. One of them, Wonohaquaham, also called Sagamore John, had jurisdiction over the Native Americans at Winnisemmit (later Chelsea) and Rumney Marsh.

 

Often, the Native Americans, with their intimate knowledge of the vast, yet unexplored wilderness, would help the settlers in their struggle to survive. During King Phillip's War, the local friendly Native Americans were placed on what is now Deer Island, where many of them perished. Some of them on the island were enlisted to help the colonists defeat the other warring tribes.

 

Rumney Marsh was originally divided and allotted to twenty-one of Boston's most prominent citizens. By 1639, the original allotments had been consolidated into seven great farms. Farming was the principal industry of Winnisemmet, and Rumney Marsh in particular. On September 25, 1634, Rumney Marsh was annexed to Boston, which had received its name only four years earlier. Winnisemmet and Pullen Poynt (which was later to be known as Winthrop) were also annexed to Boston. The first county road in North America stretched across Rumney Marsh from the Winnisemmet Ferry to Olde Salem in 1641.

 

In 1739, Rumney Marsh, Winnisemmet and Pullen Poynt were set off from Boston and established as the town of Chelsea. The largest of the three settlements, Rumney Marsh (or North Chelsea) was selected as the Town Center.

 

In 1852, Pullen Poynt seceded from North Chelsea and was established as the town of Winthrop. That same year, Chelsea became its own city. In 1871, North Chelsea changed its name in honor of the great American patriot, Paul Revere, who died in 1818.

 

Revere Beach is the oldest public beach in the United States. It has a fairly active beach front district. From its inception, Revere Beach was "the people's beach", used mostly by the working class and the many immigrants who settled in the area. The Revere Beach Reservation Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, including the full Revere Beach Reservation in 2003.