ROXBURY
LOCATION
Roxbury is located in the southwest corner of the City of Boston (Suffolk County), MA. The primary road through this area of the city is Washington Street.
HISTORY
17th Century
1630: English settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Company established Roxbury along with the City of Boston. At the time, Boston was isolated at the end of the Shawmut Peninsula and Roxbury was located three miles away along (present day) Washington Street.

18th Century
It's "choke point" location allowed Roxbury to gain strategic and economic power during the Colonial Period. At the end of the American Revolution, the town had to be rebuilt due to significant war damage.

19th Century
1804: The present First Church in Roxbury was built on the site of the original town meetinghouse at John Eliot Square.

1815: A soap factory was built at 2080 Washington Street, commencing an era of manufacturing in Roxbury. This particular building was later used as a tannery.

1820: A horsedrawn bus line was established along Washington Street, linking Roxbury and Boston for commuters.

1835: The railroad line connecting Boston to Providence was routed through Roxbury.

1846: Roxbury was incorporated as a city.

1859: The Eustis Street Fire Station (20 Eustis Street) was built to improve fire protection service.

1868: Roxbury was annexed by Boston.

1885: Franklin Park, Boston's largest park (527 acres), was created.

1887: Electric trolley service began, drawing more and more families to Roxbury and making it a true suburb of Boston.

1890: In response to the huge population increase in Roxbury, farmland was quickly converted to three decker tenament houses.

20th Century
1901: Dudley Station opened as the southern terminus of the Boston Elevated Railway. After the BER became the Massachusetts Transit Authority (MTA), the station was used on the Orange Line. Today, it is used as a bus station.

1910: A Jewish community, centered at Grove Hall (along Blue Hill Avenue), was established.

1945: Roxbury became the center of Boston's African-American community. Malcolm X lived for several years on Dale Street during this period.

SOURCES
Extensive use of information collected at LINKS below

LINKS
Roxbury History