History of Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts
Most large cities, Boston Massachusetts among them, are actually made up of a lot of small villages, towns and cities that banded together usually to cut the municipal expenses. Why have two or three of everything when you can combine, have one big agency and same a bundle of taxpayers money. It makes a lot of sense. And yet, even though they banded together, each community will retain its own individuality, its own distinct personality, its own history. Ask someone where they come from and they are likely to answer from Back Bay , Boston or from Greenwich Village, New York.
Roxbury, Massachusetts was just such a settlement. It was founded back in 1630, one of the six original settlements in Massachusetts.
The founders of Roxbury were very smart. They built their town about 3 miles south of Boston. Now at this time, before all the development and land fill in and around Boston, it was on a peninsular that was accessible only from the south and there was one town situated so that any traveler going to Boston had to pass thorough it. And that town was Roxbury. If you were traveling to Boston and needed to stop for the night, you had to stay in Roxbury, if you needed provisions, or if your horse needed to be shod, it had to done in Roxbury.
The land Roxbury was built on was perfect for a settlement. It was close enough to Boston so they could take advantage of what Boston had and yet it was far enough way so it could be a thriving agricultural community. It also had plentiful natural resources, including timber and natural stones for building homes. And a fresh flowing brook as a source of water and for the water power to power their mills. It had everything a settle of that time could hope to find.
Those original settlers did such a good job of laying out the town that the streets today are the same as they were then. With the same names, so when you take a walk through Roxbury, think of those long ago settlers who laid out the roads you are strolling on. As you walk around, look for the road marker on Center Street, showing the distance to Boston.
The 17th and 18th centuries were a defining time in the history of all of Massachusetts. During the 17th and 18th centuries, communities like Roxbury were farming communities. Roxbury was thriving. And the prosperity bought a slight change in the 18th century, when some of the grand homes were built. They were so well constructed, some of them are still standing today.
And then came the Revolution and Roxbury played an important roll in history . Roxbury had all those great stones to build their houses with because of the large hills in the area and those very same hills helped to defend Boston. A fort was built in the high hills section to defend Boston by guarding the only land route to the city.
Of course, being on the front line of battle so to speak, Roxbury took quite a beating during the war and afterwards it took quite a lot to re build.
The next big change came to Roxbury in 1820. The United States was growing at a great rate, we were our own country and taking advantage of it. And the thought of actually being able to live in the country and work in the city was beginning to take root. And when the horse drawn bus line was established between Boston and Roxbury in 1820, followed by the train in 1835, well it was just too easy to live and Roxbury and work in Boston and many did just that.
As the 19th century went on, those hills that had helped defend Boston during the Revolution attracted the upper class, because of the great views and they began to build their mansions there. The farm land started to disappear, new homes started springing up like the crops used to do.
Growth created the need for more municipal services, services that were impossible for the community of Roxbuy to provide on its own, so the citizens of Roxbury voted first to incorporate as a city in 1846 and then to become annexed to Boston in 1868.
By the time the 20th century rolled around, Roxbury showed little resemblance to the farm community of old. It was a bustling suburban community with stores, movie theaters, a bowling alley, in other words a very advanced community for its time.
Roxbury today still has a lot of green spaces and is a great place to live. You can get a nice brick townhouse in Roxbury today for around $500,000. Of course the prices differ greatly because of the size of the house and the actual area.
