After the Reverend Wolcott Cutler (1891-1965) was appointed rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Charlestown, he became interested in the long and rich history of his community. In addition to taking his own photographs of Charlestown's historic sites and streets, Reverend Cutler combed through public and private collections in the Boston area, looking for historic photographs, prints, and maps of his adopted neighborhood. By the time he retired in 1959, he had amassed a collection of over a thousand original and copy photographs in the form of lantern slides, which he used to illustrate historic lectures. The collection, which he gave to the Charlestown Branch of the Boston Public Library, is a comprehensive visual history of Charlestown.