{"id":6831,"date":"2020-09-28T14:56:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T18:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/?page_id=6831"},"modified":"2025-07-31T16:43:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T20:43:46","slug":"boston-bean-town","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/radiology\/unique-city\/boston-bean-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Bean Town"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Affectionately known as \u201cBeantown,\u201d Boston earned its nickname from a colonial-era dish of baked beans slow-cooked in molasses, a local favorite that reflects the city\u2019s deep-rooted New England heritage. While you won\u2019t find beans on every menu today, the nickname lives on as a playful reminder of Boston\u2019s charm, history, and enduring sense of identity. Whether you\u2019re a lifelong resident or new to the city, calling it Beantown adds a touch of warmth and pride to the Boston experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Boston – Bean Town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the Boston Public Library\u00a0<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Why “Bean Town”<\/h4>\n

First Speculation<\/p>\n

\u00a0Massachusetts\u00a0 with native American roots had always been known for its baked beans,<\/p>\n

In addition\u00a0 it was also noted for its rum.\u00a0 Both Rhode Island, and Massachusetts were prominently involved in the distilling alcohol allowing them to participate in the \u201cTriangle Trade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston exported the alcohol to Africa,and exchanged the alcohol for slaves, and subsequently bartered the slaves for molasses which was an ingredient of rum that they produced.<\/p>\n

The colonists combined the rum with baked beans which became popular among sailors and merchants who were involved in the Triangular trade and it is said that these merchants and sailors coined the phrase “Bean Town”<\/p>\n

A Second\u00a0 Speculation<\/p>\n

In 1890, Boston was the host of a Civil War veteran’s convention and the Beverly Pottery Company handed out small bean pots with beans as souvenirs.\u00a0 It was this unique gift that some say was the origin of the name “Bean Town”<\/p>\n

A Third Speculation<\/p>\n

In 1907, Boston pioneered a “Old Home Week” encouraging former residents to revisit.\u00a0 The program was extensively advertised centered on\u00a0 a slogan \u201cYou Don\u2019t Know Beans Until You Come to Boston\u201d Perhaps this was the origin of the name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reference<\/h4>\n

Mental Floss .com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Affectionately known as \u201cBeantown,\u201d Boston earned its nickname from a colonial-era dish of baked beans slow-cooked in molasses, a local favorite that reflects the city\u2019s deep-rooted New England heritage. While you won\u2019t find beans on every menu today, the nickname lives on as a playful reminder of Boston\u2019s charm, history, and enduring sense of identity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18282,"featured_media":0,"parent":99,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6831"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9421,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6831\/revisions\/9421"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/radiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}