Colonial Charlestown was in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, before it was annexed by Boston in 1874 and became part of Suffolk County and today is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, located on a peninsula between the Charles and Mystic rivers. It's across from downtown Boston and connected to the North End by the Charlestown Bridge and was first settled in 1628 and was the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was originally a separate town, but was annexed by Boston in 1874 Charlestown was the site of several important events in American history, including the Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place on June 17, 1775 where the British army landed on the Charlestown shore and was repulsed by American troops as well as the famous ride of Paul Revere to Lexington, which began on the evening of April 18, 1775 Notable people: Charlestown was the birthplace of Samuel F.B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. It also contains the grave of John Harvard, for whom Harvard University is named