1649
Town Rents Spectacle Island
The town of Boston grants Spectacle Island to planters for the small yearly fee of six pence per acre but the plan did not work out well.

1681
Samuel Bill Buys Spectacle Island
Thomas Bill, a lighterman began to buy up the rights to the owners of the island and by January 25, 1681 had acquired 35 acres. Samuel Bill, his son, now bought his father’s acreage and together with what he purchased from other people, believe he owned the whole island. Samuel Bill was a butcher by trade.[1]

1684
Massachusetts Indians Sell out to Mr. BillThe Son of Wampatuck, chief of the Massachusetts Indians sells Spectacle Island to Mr. Samuel Bill. This action was needed to clear up the title to the land.[2]


1718
Spectacle Island Chosen as Quarantine Station
The General Court selects Spectacle Island as the official quarantine station for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The law establishing this quarantine allowed for alternative quarantine strategies if island isolation did not work.

1720
Little Urgency to Complete Hospital
Slow Progress with Spectacle Island Hospital: The General Court urged the Boston Selectmen to finish the public hospital on Spectacle Island so as to make it warm and comfortable for the entertainment of the sick.

1721
Smallpox Disaster
In April 1721, the town of Boston was visited by the smallpox with much greater severity than at any time before. The virus was imported on the British warship called the Sea Horse. The town requested the Governor to send the Sea Horse to Spectacle Island but there is no evidence that this actually occurred.[3] Thus one of the worst smallpox epidemics in Boston history and one of the most storied epidemics in American history was caused by a failure to properly deploy and enforce quarantine.

1722
Quarantine Order Against Inoculants
In order to control the smallpox epidemic in Boston, the Selectmen order citizens who got inoculated in defiance of local requests, to be quarantined on Spectacle Island. Included in this group of individuals in Samuel Sewall one of the most prominent attorneys of his day.

1729
Smallpox Epidemic
The smallpox visited Boston and its ravages were extensive. The disease was brought into Boston by a vessel from Ireland the preceding autumn but was kept within the bounds of a few families until March 1729. At that point the watches (i.e. the town’s constables) were removed from duty and then inoculation was allowed.[4]

1735
Search for New Quarantine Island
The General Court appointed a committee to find a suitable alternative location for the quarantine hospital.[5]

1736
Appropriations Made for Purchase of New Quarantine Island
The Committee reported on December 2, 1736 that the sum of 570 pounds be granted and paid out of the treasury to the honorable John Jeffries, Esq. and other selectmen of Boston for the purchase of Rainsford Island. At the same time the General Court authorized the transfer of the Spectacle Island to Richard Bill, Esq. for 130 pounds.

1738
Termination of Spectacle Island as a Quarantine Station
Due to a variety of conflicts that emerged with the adjoining property owner on Spectacle Island, the General Court selects Rainsford Island as the site of the Province’s new quarantine station.

1741
Island sold to Edward Bromfield
Richard Bill sold his interest in Spectacle Island Edward Bromfield, Esq., a gentleman of note at that time. The island remained in private use for many years to come.

1798
Spectacle Island Held in Private hands
The U.S. Census indicates that the only occupant of Spectacle Island was Joshua Henshaw.[6]

1857
Horse Rendering Plant Established
Nahum Ward buys Spectacle Island for $15,000 to use for rendering dead horses.

1872
Island Industry
The lucrative business of rendering cattle bones was introduced on the island.[7] The operation was quite large, employing 30 men and there were 13 families living on the island.

1882
Rending Plant Expands to Handle Large Volume of Dead Horses
Spectacle Island continues to render dead horses and cattle.[8] There were 2,000 dead horses processed on the island each year.

1912
Garbage Reclamation Center
The garbage reclamation plant is established on Spectacle Island on April 12, 1912 operating under the name of the Boston Development and Sanitary Company with Mr. Cranford in charge. Garbage from this operation added 5 acres to the size of the island. Garbage disposal ended by 1936.[9]

Footnotes
[1] (Snow, 1971), p. 115
[2] (Sweetser, 1888), p. 175
[3] Drake, 1854), p. 561
[4] (Drake, 1854), p. 586
[5] (Shurtleff, 1891), p. 513-515
[6] (Snow, 1971), p. 116
[7] (Sweetser, 1888), p. 176
[8] (Snow, 1971), p. 116
[9] (Snow, 1971), pp.117-118

Bibliographic Sources

Drake, S. G. (1854). The History and Antiquities of the City of Boston. Boston: Luther Stevens.
Shurtleff, N. (1891). A Topographical and Historical Description of Boston. Boston: Rockwell and Churhill City Printers.
Snow, E., Rowe. (1971). The Islands of Boston Harbor; 1630-1971. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.
Sweetser, M. F. (1888). King's Handbook of Boston Harbor. Boston: A Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands Inc., Publication.