Mt. Benedict

Ruins of the Urseline Convent

Mt. Vernon Street, East Somerville Note: white dashed lines indicate passaways under I-93.

Take the sidewalk to your left, following the road as it curves around under I-93. Notice the railroad tracks underneath -- they are the Orange Line and two commuter rail routes -- the Haverhill line and the Ipswich/Rockport line (which now continues to Newburyport). Keep walking straight under the highway until you reach Mt. Vernon Street Stop and look diagonally across the intersection.

There used to be a hill on the other side, known as Ploughed Hill or Mt. Benedict. During the Revolutionary War, the hill was the site of artillery defending the Mystic River from the British. Later it was the site of an Ursuline convent that conducted a school for girls from prosperous families. An angry mob, incited by rumors of a captive teacher, looted and burned the convent in 1834; the ruins remained as a landmark until the hill was taken down for use as fill in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This section of the city is still referred to as the Nunnery Grounds.