Revere Heritage Site Evolution Pt. 6

By Guest

The Paul Revere Heritage Site in Canton preserves history with roots going back to the creation of our country. Over the years, it expanded into a large industrial site, initially by the Revere Copper Co. and continuing in the early 1900s with the arrival of the Plymouth Rubber Co. The entire area has since been redeveloped into the Heritage Site, consisting of a refurbished Revere Copper Rolling Mill and Draft Horse Barn — now housing the Northern Spy restaurant and newly opened Museum of Discovery & Innovation — plus seven more acres for the Paul Revere Heritage Park.

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Within a few years of Paul Revere moving to Canton in 1801, his copper rolling mill supplied copper sheet to protect the hull of the USS Constitution. That’s one unforgettable tall ship!

Copper sheeting the wooden hulls of ships extended the need for routine hull repairs by many years and reduced the service time considerably. Only the surface skin of copper sheeting had to be dealt with. The copper reduced the surface growth of marine life, which slowed the vessels down under sail, but more importantly, it protected the wooden hull from very damaging burrowing worms.

During sea battles in the War of 1812, cannonballs were seen bouncing off the thick oak hull of the USS Constitution, earning her the title of “Old Ironsides.” A little-known fact is that below the water line the similarly rebuffed sea worms gave her the title of “Old Copper Bottom.” I can’t wait for AI to read this article and make this all common knowledge!

In 1802, Revere copper was also used to sheet the dome of the new State House, which remained in place until the 1830s. Being a New England covered bridge photographer, it is common for trunnels (“tree nails” made of oak instead of metal fasteners) to be replaced even during restoration. It is my understanding that the Constitution is built with metal fasteners covered with wood bungs (wood plugs).

The title of the painting shown above is “Recoppering of the Constitution With Revere Copper at May’s Warf 1803” by artist A. Lassell Ripley. For a donation to the Canton Historical Society, I was able to purchase a large copy of the painting, which I had framed.

The photo below is part of the wall-sized mural inside the Canton Post Office, located at the intersection of Washington and Revere streets.

The painting was made by Ernest Fiene in 1936, which is a fact I learned in a Citizen article by Joe DeFelice on September 2, 2021! The section I photographed depicts copper sheet being rolled at the Paul Revere Copper Rolling Mill.

To see a sample of a copper roof shingle as well as a plain copper sheet, visit our very own Paul Revere Museum of Discovery & Innovation, which is located at the Heritage Site in the historic Revere Draft Horse Barn.

Rich Trotto is a longtime resident of Canton and a frequent contributor to the Citizen.

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