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Why is there a grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall?

Short answer: We're Anglophiles.

The gilded grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall in early morning sunlight. It was made by Shem Drowne, who was a well-known Boston coppersmith. David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe, File

By Susannah Sudborough

April 3, 2023

3 minutes to read

If you’ve ever wondered why there’s a grasshopper on the weathervane on top of Faneuil Hall, you’re not alone. And like many quirky symbols of Boston, it has an equally quirky history that is largely only known by local historians.

Thomas Gresham and the Royal Exchange

The grasshopper traces its roots back to the days of English rule in Boston. It was meant to be a sigil referencing the Royal Exchange — a center of commerce in London — which also has a golden grasshopper on its weathervane.

The grasshopper is part of the family crest of Sir Thomas Gresham, who founded the Royal Exchange in 1571 under Queen Elizabeth I.

“[Gresham] founds the Royal Exchange, and he’s like, ‘Well, I want everybody to remember that it was me,’ and so he slapped this giant golden grasshopper on it,” Daniel Berger-Jones, of Cambridge Historical Tours, said.

A portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham, founder of the Royal Exchange, by Antonis Mor. – Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

According to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), an international trade organization, the “probably apocryphal” story behind the grasshopper is that, supposedly, one of Gresham’s ancestors was found abandoned in a field as a baby by a woman who had been called to the spot by the chirping of a grasshopper.

Berger-Jones said that there are different versions of the story, but that in the end, the baby is always somehow saved by a grasshopper. To honor it, the Gresham family put it on their crest.

Peter Faneuil founds Faneuil Hall

Over a century later, Peter Faneuil, a transatlantic tradesman who the National Park Service calls “one of the wealthiest people in Boston,” was looking to establish a center of commerce in the city.

“The whole point of Faneuil Hall was that all of the tradesmen had been hocking stuff in wooden pushcarts at the end of the Long Wharf. And so [Faneuil’s] like, ‘I will build Boston its own marketplace,'” Berger-Jones said.

A portrait of Peter Faneuil, the founder of Faneuil Hall, painted by John Smibert. – Craig F. Walker / The Boston Globe

By March 1743, Faneuil had funded and founded Faneuil Hall. Copying the Royal Exchange, he hired coppersmith Shem Drowne to make a weathervane with a grasshopper on it for the hall.

“He wanted to announce that we had a marketplace, an exchange of our own,” Berger-Jones said.

In recent years, activists have pushed to rename the now city-owned hall due to Faneuil’s ties to the slave trade.

The grasshopper hops down

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The grasshopper has gone through many trials and tribulations since it was erected. According to Boston’s archives, an earthquake hit Boston in November 1755, and one of the tremors knocked the grasshopper to the ground.

Drowne was still alive to repair the grasshopper in 1755, but just six years later, it was damaged during a fire at Faneuil Hall. This time, Drowne’s son repaired it.

But that wouldn’t be the last time the grasshopper came down from its perch. According to Boston’s archives, on Evacuation Day in 1889, it was knocked to the ground while someone was attempting to lower a flag.

The great grasshopper heist

Nearly a century later, the grasshopper was stolen. According to The New York Times, it was stolen sometime between Christmas 1973 and Jan. 4, 1974. Boston’s archives say it remained missing for more than six months.

According to the New England Historical Society, Paul Revere Carroll, a direct descendant of Paul Revere, was the detective in charge of the case. The grasshopper was returned when the Plymouth County district attorney contacted Carroll to tell him he had obtained part of the grasshopper.

As it turns out, a steeplejack — a craftsman who scales buildings to do repairs and maintenance — had stolen the grasshopper. He later admitted to the crime while facing drug charges in the hopes that he would get a better plea deal.

The grasshopper today

When the grasshopper was returned to the top of Faneuil Hall in 1974, authorities put a locking device on it to prevent further theft. It has only been taken down for cleanings since then.

At four feet in length, the grasshopper is much larger than it appears from the ground. And its belly is actually a time capsule, containing coins, old newspapers, and letters and notes from various mayors.

@bostondotcom This week’s edition of Wickedpedia features a famous :cricket: that’s been involved in a fire and a heist! But why exactly is there a grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall? Hop on over to our link in bio to read the full story. #Boston #Bostonma #Massachusetts #faneuilhall #downtownboston ♬ Beat Automotivo Tan Tan Tan Viral – WZ Beat

Why is there a grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall?