IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, 
In 1896 the demand from the suburban districts for more 
rapid transit caused the incorporation of the Boston Elevated 
Railway Company, which immediately planned an elevated 
structure about seven miles in length, located in the streets. 
This connects Roxbury with Charlestown and passes across the 
centre of the city proper and through the subway. The 
Boston Elevated Railway Company then secured the West 
End Street Railway by means of a lease, and united under a 
single management the transportation of passengers within 
the settled districts of Boston and its immediate suburbs by 
means of electrically propelled cars on the surface of the 
streets, under the streets and above the streets. 
While these changes in the organization of the street rail- 
ways had been going on the various communities served by 
them had grown rapidly, as the following table of population 
shows, and the business of street transportation had increased 
with even more rapidity. 
1860. 1870. | 1880. | 1885. | 1890. | 1895. 
Boston :— . 
City proper, . 133,563 138,781 ' 147,075 147,138 161,330 |! 160,349 
Brighton, . . 3:375 4,967 6,693 8,523 12,032 15,001 
Charlestown, 25,065 28,323 | 33,731 37,673 38,348 | 40,304 
Dorchester, 9,769 12,261 17,890 20,717 29,638 45,909 
East Boston, 18,356 23,816 | 28,381 29,280 36,930 | 39,889 
Roxbury, . 25,137 34,173 ı 57,123 65,965 78,411 92,082 
South Boston, . 24,921 39,215 | 56,369 61,534 66,791 67,913 
West Roxbury, . 6,310 8,686 ı 14,032 17,424 24,997 32,761 
Arlington, . ; . 2,681 3,261 4,100 4,673 5,629 6,515 
Brookline, . 5,164 6,650 8,057 9,196 12,103 16,164 
Cambridge, 26,060 39,634 52,669 59,658 70,028 81,643 
Chelsea, ..- 13,395 18,547 21,782 25,709 | 27,909 31,264 
Everett, . ; . _ 12,200 4,159 5,825 11,068 18,573 
Malden, . . . 5,865 7,367 12,017 16,407 23,031 29,708 
Medford, . - . 4,842 5:717 7,573 9,042 11,079 14,474 
Newton, . ; 8,382 12,825 16,995 19,759 ' 24,379 27:590 
Somerville, 8,025 14,685 24,933 29,971 40,152 52,200 
Watertown, 3,270 4,326 5,426 6,238 7,973 7,788 
Totals, . . . 324,180 405,434 519,005 574,732 | 680,928 | 780,127 
ı) Formed in 1870 from a part of Malden,