Raid an apartment in Boston's Dorchester section and you could confiscate some illicit drugs, recover some Oriental rugs, some guns, and oh – and a priceless historic document stolen from the Massachusetts archives.

That's what happened on Thursday, March 7, 1985.

United Press International reported on March 8, 1985, "The first page of the 355-year-old Massachusetts Bay (Colony) Charter, missing for seven months, was put under lock and key by state officials Saturday after being recovered by police during a drug raid."

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"The document, issued by England's King Charles in 1629 to the Massachusetts Bay Company, was recovered by accident Thursday night when police raided a Boston apartment littered with garbage and animal wastes," according to UPI.

The first page of the four-page Massachusetts Bay Colony charter, made of sheepskin, was taken from a display case at the State Archive Museum on August 8, 1984.

Historic Massachusetts Document Was Recovered During Drug Raid
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Various press accounts of the raid said police seized drugs, 17 Oriental rugs and 37 weapons, some antiques.

Detective Brian Hickman of the Norfolk County Drug Task Force told UPI the document was discovered rolled up in a box in a closet along with several antique guns.

The History of Massachusetts Blog says, "The Massachusetts Bay Colony charter of 1629 was a royal document that gave the Massachusetts Bay Company permission by the English crown to establish a colony in New England." King Charles I approved the charter on March 4, 1629.

Visit the Yale Law School website to read the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter.

The king's original wax seal, used to bind the Massachusetts Bay Colony charter, was also taken in the 1984 heist. Its whereabouts are unknown.

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