Editing Watertown, Massachusetts (section)

===Revolutionary War era===

Much excitement was generated in Watertown towards the start of the [[American Revolutionary War]] period. In 1773, many of its citizens were engaged with the [[Sons of Liberty]] in another tax protest, this time against the [[Tea Act|British Tea Tax]] which resulted in the famous [[Boston Tea Party]] protest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://maintour.com/watertown-massachusetts-tourist-information/|title=Watertown Tour|website=maintour.com}}</ref>

Then later (April 1775), some 134 Watertown [[minutemen]] responded to the [[Lexington Alarm|alarm from Lexington]] to rout the British soldiers from their march to Concord. Thereafter many of these citizen soldiers were part of the first battle line formed at the [[Siege of Boston]]. Another Watertown citizen, [[Israel Bissel]], was the first rider to take the news of the British attack and rode all the way to Connecticut, New York and Philadelphia.<ref>"Bissell Outrode Paul Revere But History Left Him in the Dust", ''[[Hartford Courant]]'', April 16, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/the-five-riders/|title=The Five Riders|website=www.constitutionfacts.com}}</ref>

[[Image:Fowle House - Watertown, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Edmund Fowle House]], built in the 1700s and used by the Massachusetts government during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]]]
The [[Massachusetts Provincial Congress]], after adjournment from [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]], met from April to July 1775 in the First Parish Church, the site of which is marked by a monument. On July 3, [[George Washington]] was greeted in Watertown; the following day he took command of the Army in Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ci.watertown.ma.us/360/Did-You-Know|title=Did You Know? {{!}} Watertown, MA – Official Website|website=www.ci.watertown.ma.us|access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref> The [[Massachusetts General Court]] held its sessions here from 1775 to 1778. Committees met in the nearby [[Edmund Fowle House]]. Boston [[town meeting]]s were held here during the [[siege of Boston]], when many Boston families made their homes in the neighborhood. For several months early in the [[American Revolution]] the [[Committees of safety (American Revolution)|committees of safety]] and [[committee of correspondence]] made Watertown their headquarters and it was from here that [[Joseph Warren|General Joseph Warren]] set out for [[Battle of Bunker Hill|Bunker Hill]].<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>Hodges, Maud deLeigh. 1980. Crossroads on the Charles. Phoenix Publishing, Canaan, NH</ref>
[[File:Browne House - Watertown, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Browne House]], built {{circa|1694}}]]

The [[Treaty of Watertown]], the first treaty signed between the newly formed United States of America and a foreign power, the St. John's and [[Mi'kmaq people|Mi'kmaq]] First Nations of [[Nova Scotia]], was signed in this house.{{clarify|reason=Which: Fowle House or Browne House?|date=February 2020}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/documentaryhisto24main|title=Documentary history of the state of Maine ..|last=Maine Historical Society|publisher=Portland|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Paul|first=Daniel N.|author-link=Daniel N. Paul|title=We Were Not the Savages: A Mi'kmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HikaAQAAIAAJ&pg=PP1|edition=2nd|year=2000|publisher=Fernwood|isbn=978-1-55266-039-3|pages=169–170}} (includes full text of both treaties).</ref>

The Coolidge Tavern, built in 1742, was frequented by minutemen during the war. Here, Washington was entertained on his New England tour in 1789.<ref name="EB1911"/> The tavern was demolished in 1918 to make way for a [[tram|trolley]] terminal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Lost_Architecture/comments/dvzv1i/coolidge_tavern_watertown_ma_built_174042_by/
|title=Reddit {{!}} Lost Architecture {{!}} Coolidge Tavern | author=sverdrupian |date=November 13, 2019 | access-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2020|reason=Reddit is [[WP:UGC|user-generated]] content, needs a [[WP:RS|reliable source]]}}