Shawmut
Encyclopedia
Shawmut, according to 19th century scholarship, is a term derived from the Algonquian
word Mashauwomuk referring to the region of present day Boston, Massachusetts.University Press, 1886. It appears in print very early in the history of New England
; records from 1630 note that William Blaxton
was "dwelling on the other side of Charles River
, alone, at a place by the Indians called Shawmutt."
The meaning of Shawmut is uncertain. Most explanations refer to either the salt water
surrounding the peninsula, from which come explanations like "canoe landing place" or "place to ferry across", or to the springs
of fresh water
found within, a major inducement for the settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
at that site.
This word appears in several names, not all of which can be traced with certainty to the Mashauwomuk place name.
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
word Mashauwomuk referring to the region of present day Boston, Massachusetts.University Press, 1886. It appears in print very early in the history of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
; records from 1630 note that William Blaxton
William Blaxton
Reverend William Blaxton was an early British settler in New England, and the first European settler of modern day Boston and Rhode Island.-Biography:...
was "dwelling on the other side of Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
, alone, at a place by the Indians called Shawmutt."
The meaning of Shawmut is uncertain. Most explanations refer to either the salt water
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
surrounding the peninsula, from which come explanations like "canoe landing place" or "place to ferry across", or to the springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
of fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
found within, a major inducement for the settlement of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
at that site.
This word appears in several names, not all of which can be traced with certainty to the Mashauwomuk place name.
- Shawmut PeninsulaShawmut PeninsulaShawmut Peninsula is the promontory of land on which Boston, Massachusetts was built. The peninsula, originally a mere in area, more than doubled in size due to land reclamation efforts, a feature of the history of Boston throughout the 19th century....
is the promontory on which Boston is built. Due to land reclamation efforts throughout the 19th century, the peninsula is now over twice its original size. - Shawmut MBTA stationShawmut (MBTA station)Shawmut is a station on the Ashmont branch Red Line subway on Dayton Street between Centre Street and Lyndhurst Street in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The station is part of an almost shallow cut-and-cover subway tunnel that runs by Wellesley Park and Cronin Playground...
is a subway stationRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
on the MBTA Red LineRed Line (MBTA)The Red Line is a rapid transit line operated by the MBTA running roughly north-south through Boston, Massachusetts into neighboring communities. The line begins west of Boston, in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Alewife station, near the intersection of Alewife Brook Parkway and Route 2...
in Dorchester, MassachusettsDorchester, MassachusettsDorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
that opened in 1928. - Shawmut Bank was established in Boston in 1836 and its logo, the stylized bust of SachemSachemA sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
ObbatinewatObbatinewatObbatinewat was a 17th century Algonquian sachem who lived in what is now Massachusetts.Mourt's Relation, written circa 1620 and describing the early days of Plymouth Colony, has the following mention:...
, became widely recognizable in Greater BostonGreater BostonGreater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
over the next century and a half. Techex was part of the Shawmut Bank between 1980 and 1991. The name and logo were retired in 1995 as a result of the merger of Shawmut National Corporation and Fleet Financial Group. - Shawmut Capital Partners, an independent, stand-alone venture capital firm formed in 1998 by a former Chairman of Fleet Financial Group, now holds the rights to the Shawmut name and the logo of Chief Obbatinewat.
- Shawmut Line was the popular name for the service operated by the Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern RailroadPittsburg, Shawmut and Northern RailroadThe Pittsburg, Shawmut and Northern Railroad also known as the Shawmut Line, was a Class I railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central Pennsylvania and western New York. The line was financially troubled for its entire life span and declared...
and its successor, the Pittsburg and Shawmut RailroadPittsburg and Shawmut RailroadThe Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad , also known as the Shawmut Line, was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central and southwestern Pennsylvania...
. The name may originate in financial backing from the Shawmut Bank in Boston. - Shawmut, Maine is a village located in the town of Fairfield, MaineFairfield, MaineFairfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 6,735 at the 2010 census. The town includes Fairfield Center, Fairfield village and Hinckley...
. It was so named because the Shawmut Manufacturing Company, which ran a de-barking operation was chiefly financed by the Shawmut Bank of Boston, Massachusetts. - Shawmut Dam on the Kennebec RiverKennebec RiverThe Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
on Maine was built by the Shawmut Manufacturing Company in 1914. As there are abandoned railroad tracks nearby, the Shawmut Manufacturing Company may be a link between Shawmut Bank and the other railroad-related uses of the Shawmut name. - Shawmut, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
is a small community near HarlowtonHarlowton, MontanaHarlowton is a city in and the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,062 at the 2000 census. The city was once the eastern terminus of electric operations of the Milwaukee Road railroad's "Pacific Extension" route, which went all the way to Avery, Idaho. ...
. It takes its name from a train stationTrain stationA train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
, which, in turn, may have taken its name from the surname of a local ranchRanchA ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
er or may be connected to the railroad interests mentioned above. - Shawmut Design and ConstructionShawmut Design and ConstructionShawmut Design and Construction is an American construction management firm with offices in Boston, New York City, Providence, Las Vegas, and New Haven...
is a large national construction management firm with headquarters in Boston and offices in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Providence, RI, Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Atlantic City, NJ, and New Haven, CT. Shawmut provides client-oriented services for the following markets: academic, commercial, corporate interiors, cultural and historic preservation, healthcare and science, gaming, restaurant, retail, spas and health clubs Founded in 1982, the name Shawmut comes from the company's first office which was near the Shawmut MBTA stationShawmut (MBTA station)Shawmut is a station on the Ashmont branch Red Line subway on Dayton Street between Centre Street and Lyndhurst Street in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The station is part of an almost shallow cut-and-cover subway tunnel that runs by Wellesley Park and Cronin Playground...
mentioned above. - MV Shawmut was a steel commercial trawler, built in Quincy, MassachusettsQuincy, MassachusettsQuincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
in 1938, which later served the U.S Navy as the USS Goldcrest (AM-80)USS Goldcrest (AM-80)USS Goldcrest , a steel-hulled commercial trawler built as MV Shawmut in 1928 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, Massachusetts, was acquired by the United States Navy from the Massachusetts Trawling Co. of Boston, Massachusetts on 29 November 1940, and converted to a minesweeper. The ship...
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.