Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and located approximately from downtown Boston. It is named after the American Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 51,755.
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 Indians at Winnisemmit (later Chelsea) and Rumney Marsh.
Often, the Indians, 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 Indians were placed on what is now Deer Island where many of them perished. Later, some of the Indians 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 21 allotments had been consolidated into seven great farms. Farming was, and continued to be, 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 Point (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 Point were set off from Boston and established as the town of Chelsea. The largest of the three settlements, Rumney Marsh (North Chelsea) was selected as the Town Centre.
In 1775, the area played a role in the American Revolution as the site of the first naval battle, at Rumney Marsh, and other locations.
In 1852, Pullen Point was set off from North Chelsea and established as the town of Winthrop. That same year, Chelsea became a city. In 1871, North Chelsea changed its name in honor of the American patriot Paul Revere, who died in 1818.