I always keep a book in my car. When I am waiting for kids to get out of school or for them to be through with their games or practices I get a few minutes of reading in. This time the “car book” is 1776 by David McCullogh.

The book starts out with George Washington ready to attack Boston and gives an old map of the area. It started me to wonder – Whatever happened to Noddle’s Island?

East Boston was originally five different islands – Noddle’s (the largest), Hog (Breed’s), Governor’s, Bird and Apple. In the beginning of the Revolutionary War some of these islands were captured by the Americans as they fought to take over Boston.

These islands were mostly privately owned and used for farming, grazing, livestock and military fortifications. In 1833, the East Boston Company proceeded to fill in the surrounding water with landfill to incorporate all five islands into one land mass.

The largest islands – Noddle’s and Hog – were used for residential and commercial areas of East Boston. This area was inhabited by many new immigrants including Canadians (1840s) Irish (1850s), Russians and Eastern Europeans (1890s) and Italians (1900s). Today the area is quite diverse.

What happened to the other three smaller islands? If you have ever flown into Boston, you have landed on these three islands at Logan Airport!