The Swan Boats in the Public Garden, a new stop on Boston's Irish Heritage Trail
Swan Boat photo courtesy of Swanboats.com
Robert Paget was born in Ireland in 1837, coincidentally around the same time that Boston opened its Public Garden, the country's first public botanical garden. A boatbuilder by trade, Paget worked at the Charlestown Navy Yard when he emigrated to Boston. He and his wife Julia F. Coffey, also from Ireland, married in 1872.
In the 1870s, Paget obtained permission from the city of Boston to operate row boats in the Public Garden pond, according to a fascinating history of the Swan Boats compiled by the Paget family, who continue to operate the boats today. By then, the Public Garden had become a popular place for families and visitors to go during the spring and summer, and especially on weekends. Each year Paget had to reapply for the license to serve as the pond's boatman.
Courtesy of the City of Boston Archives
In 1877, Robert developed a catamaran propelled by foot pedals to sail around the quarter mile lake. Inspired by the popular Wagner opera, Lohengrin, where the hero crosses a river in a boat drawn by a Swan to rescue his beloved, Princess Elsa, Paget came up with a unique way to design in boat in a romantic and intriguing way.
According to the history of the Swan Boats, "This boat was designed atop two pontoons and allowed passengers to sit on benches in front of the captain. The boat was foot-propelled like a bicycle attached to a paddle wheel. To cover the apparatus and wrap around the captain, Robert designed a Swan."
The boats were an immediate success.
“The Swan-gondolas that sail so gracefully on the bosom of the lake are beautiful and picturesque additions to the scene,” wrote The Boston Globe on June 16, 1877, while advocating for the boats to operate on Sunday, the Sabbath.
"Furthermore," wrote the Globe, "they are the source of much pleasure and innocent merriment to hundreds of young people. Especially are they the delight of the children, whose fresh, young voices are heard in song or laughter over the water from the shores of the basin."
A year after the Swan Boats debuted on the pond, Robert died in 1878, and his wife Julia continued to run the Swan Boats with her children each year. When she died in 1914, she passed the business along to her children, which continued the tradition.
Boston Globe advertisement
An ad on May 10, 1934 in The Boston Globe paid tribute to the Swan Boats, writing, "Martin Brimmer was Mayor of Boston when Robert Paget designed a strange new craft. As a result of his inventive genius, Boston's famous Swan Boats, still under Paget management, make their magical appearance in the Public Garden each spring. Their grace and easy motion have held this appeal for over 50 years. To ride in a Swan Boat is an old Boston custom, transmitted from generation to generation."
Swan Boat image courtesy of Meet Boston
Four generations later, the Swan Boats are still operated by the great-grandchildren of Julia and Robert Paget and are more popular than ever. Opening day this year is April 19, 2025, carrying on a tradition lasting nearly 150 years!
Created in summer 1994, the Irish Heritage Trail is a self-guided walking tour of 20 public landmarks and monuments in downtown Boston and Back Bay that help tell the illustrious story of the Boston Irish stretching back to the 17th century. Read about other Irish connections to the Public Garden.
Learn more about the Irish Heritage Trail and plans for expanding the Trail in Boston and across Massachusetts in the coming months.
Research + Text, Michael Quinlin
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