DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

'Dorchester', including a large portion of today's Boston, was incorporated in 1630.^[1] It was still primarily rural and had a population of 12,000 when annexed to Boston in 1870. Railroad and streetcar lines brought rapid growth, increasing the population to 150,000 by 1920. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated. It is now a large, diverse working class community with many African Americans and East and Southeast Asian Americans, and is still a center of Irish American immigration.

Contents

Neighborhoods

Transportation

History

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Parochial schools

Public schools

Cultural and Language Schools

Colleges and universities

Points of interest

Notable residents

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Neighborhoods

Dorchester is Boston's most populous neighborhood, and also regarded by many as an unsafe neighborhood. Due to its size, it is often divided for statistical purposes. North Dorchester includes the portion north of Quincy Street, East Street, and Freeport Street. South Bay Center and Newmarket industrial area are major sources of employment. The main business district in this part of Dorchester is Uphams Corner, at the intersection of Dudley Street and Columbia Road. The Harbor Point area (formerly known as Columbia Point) is also the home of several large employers, including the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts. The southern area of Dorchester is bordered to the east by Dorchester Bay and to the south by the Neponset River.
Dorchester Avenue is the major neighborhood spine, running in a straight line through all of Dorchester from Lower Mills to downtown Boston. The southern part of Dorchester is primarily a residential area, with established neighborhoods still defined by parishes, and occupied by families for generations. Yet it continues to change, as best observed in the growth of its distinct commercial districts: Bowdoin/Geneva, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Peabody Square, Adams Village and Lower Mills. Other Dorchester neighborhoods include Savin Hill, Jones Hill, Four Corners, Franklin Field, Franklin Hill, Ashmont, Meeting House Hill, Neponset, Popes Hill and Port Norfolk.
The eastern areas of Dorchester (especially between Adams Street and Dorchester Bay) are primarily ethnic European and Asian, with a large population of Irish Americans and Vietnamese Americans, while the residents of the western, central and parts of the southern sections of the neighborhood are predominantly African Americans.Neponset, the southeast corner of the neighborhood, as well as the north side of Uphams Corner close to the South Boston border, are predominantly composed of Irish Americans.
Savin Hill as well as Fields Corner have a large Vietnamese American population. Uphams Corner contains a very large Cape Verdean American community and has the largest concentration of people of Cape Verdean origin within the Boston city limits. Western, central and parts of southern Dorchester have a large Caribbean population (especially people from Haiti, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago). They are most heavily represented in the Codman Square, Franklin Field and Ashmont areas, although there are also significant numbers in Four Corners and Fields Corner. Significant numbers of African Americans live in the Harbor Point, Uphams Corner, Fields Corner, Four Corners and Franklin Field areas.
Hispanics or Latinos represent 17% of Dorchester's population, according to the U.S. Census, with significant numbers living in the Harbor Point, Fields Corner and Codman Square areas.

Transportation

The neighborhood is served by five stations on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Red Line (MBTA) rapid transit service, five stations on the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, commuter rail lines, and various bus routes. Interstate 93 (which is also Route 3 and U.S. Route 1) runs north-south through Dorchester between Quincy, Massachusetts and downtown Boston, providing access to the eastern edge of Dorchester at Columbia Road, Morrissey Boulevard (northbound only), Neponset Circle (southbound only), and Granite Avenue (with additional southbound on-ramps at Freeport Street and from Morrissey Blvd at Neponset). Several other state routes traverse the neighborhood (e.g., Route 203, Gallivan Boulevard and Morton Street, and Route 28, Blue Hill Avenue (so named because it leads out of the city to the Blue Hills Reservation). The Neponset River separates Dorchester from Quincy and Milton. The "Dorchester Turnpike" (now "Dorchester Avenue") stretches from Fort Point Channel (now in South Boston) to Lower Mills, and once boasted a horse-drawn streetcar.

History

In the summer of 1614, Captain John Smith, of Virginia fame, entered Boston Harbor and landed a boat with eight men on the Dorchester shore, at what was then a narrow peninsula known as Mattapan or Mattahunts, and today is known as South Boston. The town was founded at what is now the intersection of Columbia Road and Massachusetts Avenue in 1630 by settlers who arrived on the Mary and John ship. They gathered as a church in England and founded the town and the First Parish Church of Dorchester, which still exists as the Unitarian-Universalist church on Meetinghouse Hill and is the oldest religious organization in present day Boston. Columbia Point is home to the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Boston College High School and the University of Massachusetts, Boston Campus.
Dorchester is the birthplace of the first public elementary school in America, the Mather School, established in 1639.^[2] The school still stands as the oldest elementary school in America.^[3]
In 1695, a party was dispatched to found the town of Dorchester, South Carolina, which would last barely a half-century before being abandoned.
America's first chocolate factory opened in Dorchester, in 1765, and the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory operated until 1965. Dorchester (in a part of what is now South Boston) was also the site of the Battle of Dorchester Heights in 1776, which eventually resulted in the British evacuating Boston. Dorchester was annexed by Boston in pieces, beginning on March 6, 1804 and ending on January 3, 1870, following a plebiscite held in Boston and Dorchester the previous June 22. Dorchester heights in now part of South Boston, and is not in modern-day Dorchester. Additional parts of Dorchester went to Quincy (in 1792, 1814, 1819, and 1855) and the now-annexed town of Hyde Park (1868); the new towns of Milton (1662) and Stoughton (1726) were entirely carved out of Dorchester.
In Victorian times, Dorchester became a popular country retreat for Boston elite, and developed into a bedroom community, easily accessible to the city -- a streetcar suburb. The mother and grandparents of John F. Kennedy lived in the Ashmont Hill neighborhood while John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was mayor of Boston.
In 1953, Carney Hospital moved from South Boston to its current location in Dorchester serving the local communities of Dorchester, Mattapan, Milton and Quincy.
The oldest home in the City of Boston, the James Blake House, built in 1648, is located in Edward Everett Square, a few blocks from the Dorchester Historical Society.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Parochial schools

★ Boston College High School, 9-12

★ Elizabeth Seton Academy, 9-12

★ Monsignor Ryan Memorial High, 9-12

★ St Ann Elementary School, K-8

★ St Brendan School, K-8

★ St Gregory Elementary School, K-8

★ St Kevin School, K-8

★ St Mark School, K-8

★ St Margaret Elementary School, K-8

★ St Matthew School, K-8

★ St Peter Elementary School, K-8

Public schools

Students in Dorchester are served by Boston Public Schools.

★ Boston Latin Academy, grades 7-12

★ Codman Academy Charter Public School, 9-12

★ Dorchester High School, 10-12

★ The Edward Everett School, K-6

★ Jeremiah E. Burke High School, 9-12

★ The Mather Elementary School, K-6

Cultural and Language Schools

★ Szkola Jezyka Polskiego w Bostonie (John Paul II Polish School for Children and Teens)

Colleges and universities

The University of Massachusetts Boston campus is located in the Harbor Point area of Dorchester.

Points of interest

★ Bayside Expo Center^[4]

★ James Blake House

★ Captain Lemuel Clap House

★ William Clapp House

★ John F. Kennedy Library and Museum

★ University of Massachusetts, Boston Campus

★ Boston College High School

★ Neponset River State Reservation^[5]

★ The Boston Globe newspaper facility

★ Franklin Park Zoo

★ The Erie Pub

★ First Parish Church of Dorchester

Notable residents

★ Charles Baker Adams, (1814-1853), born in Dorchester, noted academic and naturalist^[6]

★ William Taylor Adams- (1822-1897), wrote fiction under the pseudonym "Oliver Optic" and served on the School Board of Dorchester.

★ Sheldon Adelson- born in Dorchester, and the 3^rd richest person in the country and 6^th richest person in the world.

★ Samuel Turell Armstrong- (1784-1850), born in Dorchester, Governor of Massachusetts

★ Ray Bolger- American actor. "Scarecrow" in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz

★ Edwin Booth- 19th century actor and brother of John Wilkes Booth, lived in Dorchester for a few months in the 1860s.

★ William J. Bratton- former police commissioner of Boston and New York City. LAPD's 54^th Police Chief. Born and raised in Dorchester.

★ William Tolman Carlton- Painter (1816-1888).

★ James Bryant Conant- President of Harvard University (1933-1953).

★ Calvin Davis- athlete, 1996 Summer Olympics 400 meters bronze medalist

★ Mark D. Devlin- author of ''Stubborn Child'' (ISBN 0-6891-1476-1)

★ Edward Everett- orator and statesman whose speech preceded Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg

★ Thomas Finneran, former Speaker of the House, State of Massachusetts.

★ Elliott Francis- Television news anchor, journalist.

★ Childe Hassam- American Impressionist painter raised in Dorchester

★ Jonathan Knight- member of New Kids on the Block, brother of Jordan Knight (see below)

★ Jordan Knight- lead singer of the 80s-90s Original boy band New Kids on the Block

★ Julio Lugo - starting shortstop for the Boston Red Sox

★ Cotton Mather- Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer. Influential in the Salem Witch Trials, son of Increase Mather.

★ Increase Mather- Puritan minister involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Son of Richard Mather (see below)

★ Richard Mather- Puritan minister and Pastor of Dorchester until his death in 1669

★ Kevin McBride - boxer

★ Mike McColgan- lead singer and founding member of the punk rock band Street Dogs, former lead singer of Dropkick Murphys

★ John W. McCormack, Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

★ Leonard Nimoy- American actor. "Mr. Spock" of Star Trek

★ Lucy Stone- women's rights activist and first woman to keep her last name upon marrying

★ William Stoughton, Chief Justice at Salem witch trials, later Governor.

★ Donna Summer- Grammy Award-winning American singer and songwriter

★ Mark Wahlberg- Academy Award-nominated American actor and television producer, rapper "Marky Mark"

★ Donnie Wahlberg- American actor and producer. Former member of boy band New Kids on the Block

★ Robert Wahlberg- American actor

★ Daniel Webster, a leading American statesman during the nation's antebellum era, lived in Dorchester for a short time.

★ Free (a.k.a. Marie Wright)- African American hip-hop artist, singer/rapper. Born in Dorchester

See also

★ Dorchester Pot

References

1. History of Dorchester, Massachusetts
2. Notable Events in Massachusetts
3. Mather Elementary School
4. Bayside Expo Center, City Guide
5. Neponset River State Reservation Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
6. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,

Bibliography

★ Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell.

★
★ "''Boston's South End''", Images of America series, Arcadia Publishing, 1998.

★
★ "''Dorchester''", Images of America series, Arcadia Publishing, 2000.

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★ "''Dorchester: Then & Now''", Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

External links

★ Battle of Dorchester Heights in DotNews

★ History of Dorchester in DotNews

★ Dorchester Historical Society

★ Colonel Daniel Marr Boys and Girls Club

★ Uphams Corner Charter School

★ First Parish Church in Dorchester

★ Caritas Carney Hospital

★ Dorchester Atheneum - Dorchester history

★ Map of Dorchester section of Boston - Open Space Plan, City of Boston

★ Dorchester maps by City of Boston

★ Dorchester Community Website