On June 17, 1775, the Three Cranes Tavern of Charlestown, Massachusetts, burned to the ground during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Gone for centuries, it was unearthed in the 1980s in preparation for Boston’s “Big Dig”— the most expensive highway project in American history. This archeological dig found a wealth of pottery, glass, coins, smoking pipes, utensils, and even musket balls — all dating back to the time of the Tavern. For generations, the Three Cranes had been run by the Long family, and it was Robert Long, my 10th great-grandfather who founded it.
In July of 1635, Robert Long, along with his wife Elizabeth and ten children, set sail from London to New England on the ship “Defence.” They were part of a wave of immigrants to the area that became known as “The Great Migration” (1620-1640). Five years earlier, a fleet of 11 ships brought John Winthrop and his followers to Charlestown where they started the first permanent white settlement of the area. Winthrop relocated his group across the harbor five years later to what is now downtown Boston, and he became the first governor of Massachusetts. It was John Winthrop’s house, left behind in Charlestown, that became the Tavern. The business lasted for 140 years. After the British bombardment, it was not rebuilt.
Now, this place is a pretty park called City Square with benches and a lovely fountain topped with a crane weather vane. On the lawn, are the foundation stones of the historic tavern exposed and explained where they were rediscovered. The site is a sort of open-air museum which lies on Boston’s popular Freedom Trail of historic places. As I drew this picture, a steady stream of tourists stopped for a minute on their way to to the Bunker Hill Monument.
Visiting the Relatives 