Town of Brighton records

Prior to 1807, the Town of Brighton was a part of Cambridge known as Little Cambridge. In 1634, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony transferred ownership of the “south side of the river” from Watertown to Cambridge. By the 1790s, Little Cambridge’s influence in Cambridge government declined drastically due to transportation and population changes brought about by the Construction in 1793 of the West Boston Bridge over the Charles River which linked the eastern end of Cambridge directly to Boston. In 1806, sixty-seven residents of Little Cambridge petitioned the General Court “that all inhabitants of Cambridge on the south side of the Charles River may be incorporated as a distinct and separate town.” No opposition was presented to this petition by Cambridge. By the Act of 24 February 1807, Little Cambridge became the Town of Brighton.

Brighton established itself as a major center in the cattle and horticultural industries. In 1868, when the Federal Government opened a post office in the eastern half of Brighton, Allston was the name selected for the area. The Legislature passed the Act to Unite the City of Boston and Town of Brighton in 1873. It was accepted by the Town of Brighton by a vote of 622-133 on 7 October 1873. In January of 1874, Brighton officially became a part of the City of Boston.

Source: The Bull in the Garden: A History of Allston-Brighton. by William P. Marchione. 1986.