Fort Hill or the Roxbury Highlands Historic District | |
Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°19′31″N71°5′40″W / 42.32528°N 71.09444°W Coordinates: 42°19′31″N71°5′40″W / 42.32528°N 71.09444°W |
NRHP reference No. | 89000147 [1] |
Added to NRHP | February 22, 1989 |
Fort Hill is a 0.4 square mile neighborhood and historic district of Roxbury, in Boston, Massachusetts. The approximate boundaries of Fort Hill are Malcolm X Boulevard on the north, Washington Street on the southeast, and Columbus Avenue on the southwest. [2]
The geographic area comprising Fort Hill was strategically important during the American Revolutionary War and housed the patriot army defenses during the siege of Boston. Fort Hill is actually named after an earthwork fortification that the patriot army built upon the hill located at the center of the neighborhood. The hill is now the location of Highland Park, which is notable for a Victorian-era tower designed by Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee, and landscaping designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Fort Hill developed rapidly as a residential neighborhood in the 19th century, especially after the extension of streetcar service from Boston. Fort Hill is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Orange and Silver Lines. The neighborhood features a variety of architecture including Greek Revival and Italianate houses that predate the American Civil War, classic Boston triple-deckers, row houses and newer green developments. The neighborhood of Fort Hill, which is sometimes referred to as Highland Park, [3] was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Roxbury Highlands Historic District on February 22, 1989. [4]
Fort Hill is home to the First Church in Roxbury, which, gathered in 1631, was the sixth church founded in New England. [5] The Church has had five different meeting houses at its site at the intersection of Highland Avenue and Centre Street, with the current dwelling, built in 1803, still standing today as the oldest wooden frame church building in Boston. The First Church of Roxbury marked the starting point for the April 18, 1775 Midnight Ride by William Dawes who, along with Paul Revere, was dispatched by Joseph Warren to warn Lexington and Concord of the British incursion during the Revolutionary War. [6] The First Church currently is the headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry's activities.
The Dillaway-Thomas House located at 183 Roxbury Street was used by the patriots in the Revolutionary War. The Dillaway-Thomas House was built as a parsonage for the First Church in Roxbury, with construction beginning in 1750. During the eleven-month siege of Boston from April 1775 through March 1776, the 4700 soldier right wing of the patriot army camped in Roxbury. Major General John Thomas used the house as his headquarters. The Dillaway-Thomas House now houses the operations for Roxbury Heritage State Park.
During the American Revolutionary War, the Roxbury High Fort played a significant strategic role in the siege of Boston. The fort, located on what is now Beech Glen Street, gave Fort Hill its name.
The area comprising Fort Hill primarily contained country estates and farm and pasture land in the era preceding the American Revolutionary War. [7] Despite its agrarian orientation, the area was strategically important to the colonial resistance to the siege of Boston. [8] The only road that connected the mainland with Boston on the Shawmut Peninsula passed through Fort Hill, dividing at John Eliot Square into the road to Brookline and Cambridge (Roxbury and Tremont Streets) and the road to Dedham (Centre Street). [8] The district's height overlooking the land connection and its puddingstone outcroppings made it an advantageous location for the Continental Army to build fortifications.
In the summer of 1775, the Continental Army built two forts in the area as part of a circle of defenses that eventually enabled the evacuation of the British from Boston. [3] The Lower Fort was located on two acres of land between Cedar, Highand and Linwood Streets. The High Fort was an earthworks structure that occupied the summit of the hill. The Revolutionary War resulted in the destruction of many of Fort Hill's colonial-era buildings, and the Dillaway-Thomas is the only surviving pre-Revolutionary structure in the district. [8]
Fort Hill began its transformation from agricultural to residential uses in the early nineteenth century. In 1803, what is now known as Washington Street was improved to become the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, a road that connected Boston with Pawtucket, Rhode Island. [7] As early as the 1820s, a horse-drawn bus line was established along Washington Street to carry commuters into Boston, and in 1835 the railroad from Boston to Providence was sited along the Stony Brook Valley on the North side of Fort Hill. [9] These improved transportation options drew a population of wealthy estate builders and upper middle class businessmen to Fort Hill.
Roxbury's annexation to Boston in 1868 triggered the first wave of heavy suburbanization within the district. In 1869, Roxbury built the Cochituate Standpipe, the neighborhood's most widely known structure, to modernize its water system. [9] One additional development project significantly increased the attractiveness of the neighborhood. Electric trolley service began in 1889 and residents began to move to Fort Hill in mass, creating a market for row houses, triple-story houses, and single-family homes. [9]
During the early twentieth century, Fort Hill experienced an influx of immigrants of English, Irish, and German descent. [8] The influence of German immigrants is visible in some of Fort Hill's architecture in the area around Egleston Square. [7] Late nineteenth-century suburban development was dominated by the Yankee Protestant middle class, while the early twentieth-century witnessed the influx of a middle class Jewish population. [8] In the 1940s and 1950s, Fort Hill witnessed another wave of immigration, as many African American people from the American South moved into the neighborhood as part of the Great Migration. [10] Following the influx of African Americans, Fort Hill and Roxbury in general became what the City of Boston has characterized as the "heart" of black culture in Boston. [11]
Today, Fort Hill is home to an ethnically and linguistically diverse community. Fort Hill has been recognized for its sizable population of residents with Irish, Puerto Rican, Dominican, German and Sub-Saharan African roots. [12] Over the last decade Fort Hill has experienced an influx of professionals, artists and students, many of whom attend Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design or Wentworth Institute of Technology. Fort Hill is also often referred to as a neighborhood that is notable for having a high concentration of residents living with same-sex partners, [13] [12] and has a history of its residents advocating for gay rights. [14]
Fort Hill is served by the MBTA's bus and rail services, roadways and public bicycle trails.
Fort Hill is served by Boston Public Schools, which assigns students using an algorithm based on, among other things, the preferences of the applicants and the location of a student's home. [15] Fort Hill is home to a number of primary and secondary schools including Nathan Hale Elementary School (PK–5), Timilty Middle School (6–8), and the John D. O'Bryant School of Math & Science (7–12). Fort Hill hosts two institutions of higher learning, Roxbury Community College and Emmanuel College's retreat center.
This article's list of residents may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy.(April 2019) |
Roxbury is a neighborhood within the city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of 4.4 square miles (11 km2) in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded by Boston Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The community seceded from Roxbury as a part of the new town of West Roxbury in 1851, and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874. In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first streetcar suburbs in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale to the northeast, Hyde Park to the southeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest and the town of Dedham to the southwest. West Roxbury is often mistakenly confused with Roxbury, but the two are not connected. West Roxbury is separated from Roxbury by Jamaica Plain and Roslindale.
Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, and the hill upon which the Massachusetts State House resides. The term "Beacon Hill" is used locally as a metonym to refer to the state government or the legislature itself, much like Washington, D.C.'s "Capitol Hill" does at the federal level.
Chestnut Hill is a village located six miles (9.7 km) west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity. It is located partially in Brookline in Norfolk County; partially in the city of Boston in Suffolk County, and partially in the city of Newton in Middlesex County. Chestnut Hill's borders are defined by the 02467 ZIP Code. The name refers to several small hills that overlook the 135-acre Chestnut Hill Reservoir rather than one particular hill. Chestnut Hill is best known as the home of Boston College and as part of the Boston Marathon route.
Winter Hill is a neighborhood in Somerville, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the 120-foot hill that occupies its landscape, the name of which dates back to the 18th century. Winter Hill is located roughly north of Medford Street, west of McGrath Highway, and east of Magoun Square.
The Washington Street Elevated was an elevated segment of Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway system, comprising the southern stretch of the Orange Line. It ran from Chinatown through the South End and Roxbury, ending in Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain, Boston.
Nathaniel Jeremiah Bradlee was a Boston architect and a partner in the firm of Bradlee, Winslow & Wetherell.
Boston's diverse neighborhoods serve as a political and cultural organizing mechanism. The City of Boston's Office of Neighborhood Services has designated 23 Neighborhoods in the city:
Mission Hill is a ¾ square mile, primarily residential neighborhood of Boston that borders Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Brookline and Fenway-Kenmore. It is home to several hospitals and universities, including Brigham and Women's Hospital and New England Baptist Hospital. Mission Hill is known for its brick row houses and triple decker homes of the late 19th century. The population was estimated at 15,883 in 2011.
Forest Hills is a part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Forest Hills is characterized by hilly terrain and wooded areas within and adjacent to its borders. In general, the area slopes upward from Hyde Park Ave and downward from Walk Hill Street.
The First Church of Jamaica Plain is a historic church at 6 Eliot Street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The stone Gothic Revival church was designed in 1854 by the well known Boston architect, Nathaniel J. Bradlee, for a congregation which was established in 1769 as the Third Church of Roxbury. It is built out of ashlar granite, laid in courses without ornament. It has a square tower with Gothic arched windows at the second level, a clock face at the third, and Gothic louvered openings at the belfry, and a parapeted top. A Shingle style parish hall was added in 1889. This new addition was designed by Cabot, Everett & Mead.
The Dillaway School is an historic school at 16-20 Kenilworth Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The school was built in 1882 to a design by George Albert Clough, the city's first official architect, and is his only surviving school design in the city. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and included in the Roxbury Highlands Historic District in 1989. The building has been converted to residential use.
John Eliot Square District is a historic district located in the northern Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is formed by the intersection of Dudley, Bartlett, Centre, Roxbury and Highland Streets. Named after local missionary to the Indians, John Eliot, the square was the site of the Roxbury town center after its founding in 1630. Roxbury was annexed to Boston in 1868, and John Eliot Square was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The square is the nucleus of Roxbury Heritage State Park, a history-themed heritage park.
The Alvah Kittredge House is an historic house in the highlands of the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The 2-1/2 story Greek Revival mansion was built in 1836 for Alvah Kittredge, a leading real estate developer of the time. It was originally located at the site of the Roxbury Low Fort, a defensive earthworks of the American Revolutionary War, and was moved to its present site after 1896. It was the home of noted Boston architect Nathaniel J. Bradlee for 30 years.
Roxbury High Fort is a historic fort site on Beech Glen Street at Fort Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The site now contains a small park and the Cochituate Standpipe, also known as Fort Hill Tower, built in 1869. The fort site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The site inspired the name of the Fort Hill neighborhood, which surrounds the area of the High Fort.
Roxbury Heritage State Park is a history-themed heritage park in the oldest part of Roxbury, a former town annexed in 1868 by Boston, Massachusetts. It is anchored by the Dillaway–Thomas House, a large colonial structure built in 1750 and thought to be the oldest surviving house in Roxbury. The location includes an adjacent 1-acre (0.40 ha) landscaped park with views of the Boston skyline, and is part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston.
The First Church in Roxbury, also known as the First Church of Roxbury is the current headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist ("UU") Urban Ministry. A church on this site has been in use since 1632 when early English settlers built the first meetinghouse. Since then, the meetinghouse has been rebuilt four times, and its appearance today reflects how the meetinghouse looked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Theodore Parker Unitarian Universalist Church is a historic church building at 1859 Centre Street in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. Built in 1900 to a design by West Roxbury native Henry M. Seaver, it is a locally significant example of Normanesque architecture, and is adorned by stained glass windows created by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his firm. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. The congregation it houses was founded in 1712, and is named for the influential Transcendentalist and abolitionist Theodore Parker, who was the congregation's minister in the 1840s.
The Crawford Street Historic District encompasses a collection of primarily residential apartment houses on Crawford Street between Elm Hill Avenue and Warren Street in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The area was developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and features well-preserved wood frame single and multi-family residences from that period, as well as the city's only extant Brutalist style branch library building. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
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