Degrand was described by Clarence W. Barron and Joseph G. Martin as "the man to whose indomitable energy and foresight the existence of the Boston Stock Exchange is largely due".

[4] When it first opened the only available securities on the exchange were stocks in banks, insurance companies, local mills, canal projects, small mining operations, and various public debts.

The textile mills of Lowell, Lawrence, Manchester, and Lewiston that were a part of the exchange in its early years were almost totally absent by 1893, as the business was mostly held by auctioneers.

[2] The Boston Stock Exchange played an important role in the development of railroads in New England by providing a market for their securities.

[7] The Boston Stock Exchange closed from June 30 to December 10, 1914, due to chaos created by the start of World War I.

[8] The BSE grew in the mid-1960s when institutions began utilizing regional exchanges for "give-ups" or the sharing of commissions between brokers.

[9][10] On December 5, 1968, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlawed "give-ups", which cut the number of trades on the BSE down to 24.6 million shares in 1970.

[9][11] In 1981, the BSE hired Charles J. Mohr, a 34-year-old vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, to serve as its first full-time paid chairman and CEO.

[14] In its later years, the BSE served as an alternative to the New York Stock Exchange for the area's mutual fund companies.

[18] The Boston Stock Exchange's original headquarters was on the third floor of the Washington Bank Building at 47 State Street.

On November 9, 1885, the BSE moved back to the Merchants Exchange building, this time to the hall known as the Reading Room.