Dorchester

By Anthony Mitchell Sammarco

Renowned local historian and author Anthony Mitchell Sammarco has brought together more than two hundred compelling images of the town of Dorchester, showing the events, places, and faces that defined Dorchester during the exciting period between its annexation to Boston in 1870 and the early 1920s.

Dorchester was settled in 1630 by Puritans from England, and for over two hundred years it remained a small farming community. However, the arrival of the Old Colony Railroad brought first a flood of wealthy new residents from the city of Boston, and soon a second wave of newly-arrived immigrants who introduced a new diversity and vibrancy to the area. The photographs in this book show a community which has constantly embraced change and diversity without losing its sense of tradition and pride in its heritage. They bring to life the history of such neighborhoods as Meeting House Hill, Grove Hall, Codman Square, Pope's Hill, and Neponset, showing buildings long gone and many that are still familiar features of the local landscape, as well as busy streetscenes and images of Dorchester residents at work and play during fifty key years of the town's history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 1995
• ISBN: 9781439616154

Anthony Mitchell Sammarco

Anthony Mitchell Sammarco is a noted historian and author of over sixty books on Boston, its neighborhoods and surrounding cities and towns. He lectures widely on the history and development of his native city.

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One

Savin Hill and Glover’s Corner

The Tuttle House was at the corner of Savin Hill Avenue and Tuttle Street. One of Boston’s first seaside hotels, it was owned by Joseph Tuttle, who renamed Old Hill as Savin Hill in 1822. Savin trees covered the hill that projected into Dorchester Bay.

Barracks were built on Savin Hill at the time of the Revolutionary War. Grampian Way has a panoramic view of Boston and the Harbor, and these small buildings were built on the north side of the Way.

Mayfield was the home of John J. May, a Boston merchant, who built his house on Dorchester Avenue at the corner of Mayfield Street. May was the first president of the Dorchester Historical Society, which was founded in