Prospect Hill Memorial Park and Observatory

Looming 115 feet over the nearby Union Square, Prospect Hill is the highest point in the city of Somerville and served as a key citadel for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The colonial flag was also unfurled on its summit for the first time on January 1, 1776, an act that continues to be reenacted annually.

Previously known as Strawberry Hill and Wildredge’s Hill, the drumlin was initially the site of a dairy farm. However, the excellent views afforded by the summit of both Boston and the surrounding country would make it an optimal strategic location during the Revolutionary War. In addition to its critical role in the Siege of Boston (June 17, 1775 to March 17, 1776), the summit of Prospect Hill was where George Washington’s army watched the British army evacuate from Boston.

In the immediate aftermath of the Revolutionary War Prospect Hill was utilized as a British prisoner of war camp, serving as home to over 2,300 British troops captured at Saratoga from 1777-1778. The hill would once again assume a militaristic function at the onset of the Civil War, this time as a recruitment camp for the Union Army (hence the namesake of the nearby Union Square).

In the second half of the 19th century the area around Prospect Hill began to gentrify. In an effort to clean up the surrounding area, the city of Somerville opted to fill in the heavily polluted Miller’s River with soil from the top of Prospect Hill. As such, the hill today stands some ten feet shorter than its original height of 125 feet.

By the late 19th century various conservation groups had gained momentum in their efforts to convert the summit of the hill into a park - efforts that would ultimately prove successful. The Prospect Hill Memorial Observatory, designed by Ernest Bailey in the Medieval Revival style, was built and dedicated in 1903 for a cost of $8,700, which remains atop the hill to this day.