Town Beacon (first) is built.

It is located near today’s 24 Beacon Street on today’s Beacon Hill (then Sentry Hill). Its construction was ordered by the General Court on March 4, 1634, in order “to give notice to the country of any danger.” It is topped by a barrel of tar that can be lit to warn of attacks by Native Americans or other emergencies. The beacon is rebuilt in 1768, torn down by British troops in 1775, and replaced in 1776. Blown down in a storm in 1789,* it is replaced by another beacon (second) in 1791.*