Engineered and built by Gridley Bryant to convey granite from Quincy to Charlestown for construction of the Bunker Hill Monument, the Quincy Granite Railway was the the first railroad chartered in the U.S. (March 4, 1826) and began operations on Oct. 7; the iron-clad wooden track ran from the Quincy quarries to the Neponset River. The account book records cash disbursements and receipts from individuals (such as merchants James Perkins and Thomas Handasyd Perkins) and corporate entities including the Bunker Hill Monument Association, the State Prison (Charlestown), the Long Wharf [Boston] Corp., and the Charlestown Navy Yard, for construction and repair projects.
