The Richmond and Danville railroad was constructed in 1854 and popularity for the town continued to grow with many settlers arriving from all different parts of the world.  With the railroad came opportunities, and in 1855 Captain E.B. Jeffress constructed a brick storehouse and began a general merchandise business at “South Boston Depot” followed by the first hotel in 1856.  The local economy started to bloom, encouraging more investment in industry.
Boston has always been a key area for industry. It originally made its name with the mills, manufacturing clothing, processing wool and making leather and textile goods. Other key industries found a home in Boston during the 1800’s. Some have stood the test of time, while others are long-gone – but all have left their mark on the city. Some buildings still stand today from the time where tobacco, ironworks and ship building were the livelihood for many skilled workers.
Tobacco Industry
One of the major initial industries to grow up in during the late 1800’s was the tobacco industry. Warehouses and processing plants were established to grow the tobacco plant and South Boston became the second largest bright-leaf tobacco market in the US. With the Richmond and Danville railroad having been established in 1854, connections to the tobacco market in Halifax County made South Boston a suitable town to invest in the growing industry.  The tobacco market flourished until the start of the Great Depression when it gradually began to decline.
Iron Works
By the middle of the 19th Century, iron factories and machine shops began to appear in the district. Cyrus Alger founded the South Boston Iron works from where he supplied cannon balls in the war of 1812 and later for the Civil War. The guns they produced sank the Merrimac and the Alabama war ships. They also built the first rifle-cannon in 1834, and by 1850 the ironworks had become the largest foundry in the United States of America.
City Point Works
In 1847 Harrison Loring founded the City Point works, making marine engines, boilers and paper mill equipment.  10 years later, he produced the first iron ships in New England.  The City Point works are located towards the end of the peninsula of South Boston with a water-front of 600 feet.  In the early 1860s, approximately 650 men were employed by Loring who went on to launch another 13 vessels between 1858 and 1891.

Glassworks
Glassworks was another major up-and-coming industry during the 1800’s in the South Boston area. Glassware manufacturers included; Phoenix Glass Works, American Flint Glass Works and Mount Washington Glass Works. In 1812 Thomas Caines, who was British born, began working at the Boston Crown Glass Company who were manufacturers largely of window glass.  He worked at this company for just over 8 years and after that time opened his own shop selling flint glass crystal.  His shop was named Phoenix Glass works and from here he continued to produce cut glass until approximately 1870.
Walworth Manufacturing Company (Manufacturers of Radiators)
In 1842 James Jones Walworth and his brother-in-law Joseph Nason opened up the Walwork and Nason Manufacturing Company, moving from New York to Boston where they grew their business from their premises on East First street, not just through engineering and iron tube manufacturing for the heating industry but also branching out into the installation of boilers and heating systems for large industrial mills and ships.  The company continued to evolve and grow and by the late 1800’s the company was a recognised name in the marketplace where quality meant everything. By this time they were one of the largest manufacturers and distributers within this industry throughout the world.
Boston continued to evolve throughout the centuries and the great depression. While some industries were lost, new ones emerged. Today, the main industries in Boston are finance, high-technology research and development, medicine, education, fishing, food processing, printing and publishing, and government and not surprisingly – tourism.