Dorchester

The neighborhood is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated on the ship Mary and John, among others and is today sometimes nicknamed “Dot” by its residents.

Founded in 1630, just a few months before the founding of the city of Boston, Dorchester now covers a geographic area approximately equivalent to nearby Cambridge. It was still a primarily rural town and had a population of 12,000 when it was annexed to Boston in 1870. Railroad and streetcar lines brought rapid growth, increasing the population to 150,000 by 1920. In the 2010 United States Census, the population was 92,115. Dorchester as a separate municipality would rank among the top five Massachusetts cities.

It has a very diverse population, which includes a large concentration of African Americans and a foreign-born population made up of European Americans, Irish-American immigration, Caribbean Americans, Latinos, and East and Southeast Asian Americans.

The oldest surviving home in the city of Boston, the James Blake House, is located at Edward Everett Square, which is the historic intersection of Columbia Road, Boston Street, and Massachusetts Avenue, a few blocks from the Dorchester Historical Society. The Blake House was constructed in 1661, as was confirmed by dendrochronology in 2007.

Dorchester is Boston’s largest and most populous neighborhood and comprises many smaller sections and squares. Due to its size of about six square miles, it is often divided for statistical purposes in North and South Dorchester. North Dorchester includes the portion north of Quincy Street, East Street, and Freeport Street. The main business district in this part of Dorchester is Upham Corner, at the intersection of Dudley Street and Columbia Road. The Neponset River borders South Dorchester to the east by Dorchester Bay and to the south. The main business districts in this part of Dorchester are Fields Corner, at the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Adams Street, and Codman Square, at the intersection of Washington Street and Talbot Avenue. Adjacent to Fields Corner is the Harrison Square Historic District, also known as Clam Point, noteworthy for its collection of substantial Italianate Mansard residences.

Dorchester Avenue is the major neighborhood spine, running in a south-north line through all of Dorchester from Lower Mills to downtown Boston. The southern part of Dorchester is primarily a residential area, with defined neighborhoods with parishes, and occupied by families for generations. The northern part of Dorchester is more urban, with a greater amount of apartment housing and industrial parks. South Bay Center and Newmarket industrial area are major sources of employment and the Harbor Point area (formerly known as Columbia Point) is home of several large employers, including the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Distinct commercial districts include Bowdoin/Geneva, Fields Corner, Codman Square, Peabody Square, Adams Village and Lower Mills. 

Key Facts about Dorchester

Notable Neighborhoods of Dorchester

Savin Hill 

Jones Hill

Four Corners

Franklin Field 

Franklin Hill

Ashmont

Meeting House Hill 

Neponset

Popes Hill 

Port Norfolk

Public Transportation  

Red Line JFK/UMASS, Savin Hill, Fields Corner, Shawmut, Ashmont, 
Commuter Rail Fairmont line Newmarket
Buses

Landmarks

The oldest surviving home in the city of Boston, the James Blake House, is located at Edward Everett Square, which is the historic intersection of Columbia Road, Boston Street, and Massachusetts Avenue, a few blocks from the Dorchester Historical Society. The Blake House was constructed in 1661, as was confirmed by dendrochronology in 2007.

Dog Parks

Victory Road Park
Dorchester Park
Pope John Paul II Park

Farmers Market

Dorchester Field Corner October to May Saturday 9am to Noon
Codman Square Farmer’s Market Thursday 1pm-6pm near Shawmut station

Schools

University of Massachusetts

Public Schools
Boston College High School
Compass Inc
Cristo Rey Boston High School

Crispus Attucks Children’s Center
Little House Altern
Mother Caroline Academy & Education Center-All Girls
Notre Dame Montessori
Yawkey Konbit Kreyol Center