Boston’s Gilded Grasshopper: Its Legend and History

The State Library was established in 1826, so as you can imagine, we have quite a lot of materials here. We’ve also had lots of different staff members over the years and with such a vast collection, each member of our staff ends up finding something--or several things--that they think is cool or interesting or different. One day while looking through some old files, I came across a folder labeled “Grasshopper: Faneuil Hall Weathervane.” I had no idea what it could be about, so my interest was piqued. Here’s what I found:

As any good librarian does, I set out to find more information about this and what I discovered was a fun story about Boston’s history. Faneuil Hall was a gift to the City of Boston from Peter Faneuil, a wealthy merchant, who believed that Boston needed a center of exchange. He hoped that his gift would improve trade for Boston and serve as a marketplace for crops and livestock, as well as a meeting hall. A weathervane was placed at the top of Faneuil Hall and on top of the weathervane sits a gilded grasshopper statue.

Courtesy of WBUR

The grasshopper was designed by Shem Drowne, a coopersmith and tinplate worker, as well as the first documented weathervane maker in America. The grasshopper has been on top of Faneuil Hall since the building’s construction in 1742, though it has endured extreme weather events and even theft.

In 1761 a fire damaged both the weathervane and Faneuil Hall. Thomas Drowne, a blacksmith and the son of Shem Drowne, repaired the weathervane and Faneuil Hall was rebuilt as well and reopened to the public in 1763. Five years later Thomas Drowne inserted a time capsule in the grasshopper’s stomach. As the grasshopper has been refurbished over time, historical newspapers, coins, and letters from mayors have been added to the capsule, which is inscribed "Food for the Grasshopper.” Luckily the grasshopper has stayed strong and has always made its way back home to the top of Faneuil Hall.

Courtesy of faneuilhallmarketplace.com

You may be asking yourself though, “why the grasshopper?” There is a theory as to why Drowne chose a grasshopper. According to legend, Shem Drowne was discouraged by his failures in colonial New England. He was sleeping in a large, open field and when he woke up, he saw a boy chasing a grasshopper. Shem chatted with the boy and the boy then took Shem home with him. The boy’s wealthy parents gave Shem dinner and later on they adopted him. Shem chose the grasshopper as a way to commemorate this turning point in his life.

While a fun story, it's still just a legend and there is what seems to be a more plausible story out there as to why the grasshopper was chosen. In 1571, a grasshopper weathervane was put on top of the Royal Exchange in London and it was recognized as a symbol of British commerce around the world. When Peter Faneuil had Faneuil Hall built on Boston’s then-shoreline, he also wanted it to be a center of commerce and trade. The grasshopper is a nod to the grasshopper above the Royal Exchange, signaling Boston’s role as a commercial center as well.

Photo of the grasshopper weathervane on top
of the Royal Exchange, courtesy of Londonist

If you’d like to learn more about Faneuil Hall, you can read our copy of Faneuil hall and Faneuil hall market : or, Peter Faneuil and his gift by Abram English Brown (1901). A copy of the cover of this book is shown in the first picture of this blog post and is one of the items that got me interested in finding out more about the grasshopper weathervane to begin with. The grasshopper has quite the history and I’ve only briefly touched upon it here. For an easy-to-read timeline, take a look at Walking Boston’s page and don’t forget--next time you’re in Boston, be sure to look for the grasshopper on top of Faneuil Hall!

Jessica Shrey
Reference Librarian