Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as a city in 1822, is one of America’s oldest cities, with a rich economic and social history. What began as a homesteading community eventually evolved into a center for social and political change. Boston has since become the economic and cultural hub of New England. The City Seal motto, to wit: Siet patribus sit Deus nobis: and that the inscription be as follows: – ‘Bostonia condita, A.D. 1630. Civitatis regimine donata, A.D. 1822.'” The motto is taken from Kings viii, 557: GOD be with us as he was with our fathers.”