Home > Roxbury, Massachusetts

The early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony established a series of seven villages in 1630. Roxbury was located about three miles south of Boston, which at the time was a peninsula, and was connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land, "Roxbury Neck". This led to Roxbury becoming an important town as all land traffic to Boston had to pass through it. The town was home to a number of early leaders of the colony, including colonial governors Thomas Dudley, William Shirley, and Increase Sumner.

As Roxbury developed in the 19th century, the northern part became an industrial town with a large immigrant community, while the majority of the town remained agricultural and saw the development of some of the first streetcar suburbs in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in. This led to the incorporation of the old Roxbury village as one of Massachusetts's first cities, and the rest of the town was established as the town of West Roxbury.

As the 20th century19th century 20th century 21st century more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901- 2000 in the sense of the Gre proceeded, Roxbury became home to the majority of Boston's African-American population, and a large portion of the city's JewishThe word Jew is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to either a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity. This article discusses the term as describing an ethnic group; for a residents. In the 1980sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s Years: 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Events and trends local residents organized a ballot referendumA referendum (plural: referendums or referenda or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may be the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the r in Boston to restore Roxbury's status as an independent city which would be called MandelaMandela was a proposed city that would be formed as a result of some districts seceding from Boston, Massachusetts. The districts, including parts of Roxbury, Dorchester, and the South End, were populated mainly by African-Americans and Latinos, and the m, and while the majority of voters in Roxbury approved the measure, it failed to pass in the rest of Boston in the 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa vote.

It was originally called "Rocksbury" because of its hilly geography and the many large outcroppings of Roxbury puddingstone , a rock formation composed of small stones that were surrounded by lava from ancient volcanos.

Other notable Roxbury residents include: Bobby Brown, Cid Corman, Louis Farrakhan, Charles Dana Gibson, Edward Everett Hale, Roy Haynes, Malcolm X, Samuel Pierpont Langley, John L. Sullivan, Joseph Warren, and mayor Maurice Tobin .