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Jamaica Plain is a
neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Settled by
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of
Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bo ...
, now also a part of the City of Boston. The community seceded from Roxbury as a part of the new town of
West Roxbury West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the town of Brookline to the north, the cities and towns of Newton and Needham to the northwest and the town of Dedham to th ...
in 1851, and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874.Local Attachments : The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920 (Creating the North American Landscape), by
Alexander von Hoffman Alexander Carl von Hoffman (born July 11, 1951, in United States) is an American urban planner and historian. He is currently Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Senior Research Fellow at ...
, The Johns Hopkins University Press (1996),
In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first
streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...
s in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
. In 2020, Jamaica Plain had a population of 41,012 according to the United States Census.


History


Colonial era

Shortly after the founding of Boston and Roxbury in 1630,
William Heath William Heath (March 2, 1737 – January 24, 1814) was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Life and career Heath m ...
's family and three others settled on land just south of Parker Hill in what is now Jamaica Plain. In the next few years, William Curtis, John May and others set up farms nearby along Stony Brook, which flowed from south to north from Turtle Pond (in Hyde Park) to an outlet in the
Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...
marshes in the current filled-in Fens area of Boston. John Polley followed with a farm which he purchased from Lt. Joshua Hewe in 1659 at the site of the present-day Soldier's Monument at the intersection of South and Centre streets, closer to the "Great Pond", later known as Jamaica Pond. Later, for services rendered during the
Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narraga ...
, Joseph Weld received a grant of of land between South Street and Centre Street. His son John built a home along South Street in the area which is now the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...
. The Weld family continued to live in the area for many generations. In the late 1650s, the name "Jamaica" first appears on maps for the area of Roxbury between Stony Brook and the Great Pond. There are a number of theories regarding the origin of the name "Jamaica Plain". A well-known theory traces the origin to "Jamaica rum", a reference to
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
n cane sugar's role in the
Triangle Trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset t ...
of
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...
,
rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...
, and
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. There were taverns on the Road to Dedham in the vicinity of Jamaica Plain. Another explanation is that "Jamaica", though a different letter "A" pronunciation, is an
Anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of the name of Kuchamakin, brother of
Chickatawbut Chickatawbut (died 1633; also known as Cicatabut and possibly as Oktabiest before 1622) was the sachem, or leader, of a large group of indigenous people known as the Massachusett tribe in what is now eastern Massachusetts, United States, during th ...
, the deceased
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
(chief) of the
Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hil ...
tribe, who ruled the tribe as regent to Chickataubut's minor son, Josias Wampatuck. In 1655, the English navy took the island of Jamaica from the Spanish, so it is also possible the area was named to honor this recent British victory. On some maps, until the mid–19th century, the area was marked as "Jamaica Plains". John Ruggles and Hugh Thomas donated land in 1676 for the building of the community's first school. A gift of of land south of the "Great Pond" by John Eliot provided financial support for the school, which was named the Eliot School (which still exists) in his honor. During the 18th century, the farms of the Jamaica section of Roxbury transitioned from subsistence to market orientation, serving the growing Boston population. At the same time, wealthy men bought land and built estates in the bucolic countryside. In 1740, Benjamin Faneuil, nephew of Boston merchant
Peter Faneuil Peter Faneuil (June 20, 1700March 3, 1743) was a wealthy American colonial merchant, slave trader and philanthropist who donated Faneuil Hall to Boston. Childhood The eldest child of one of three Huguenot brothers who fled France with considera ...
, bought land between Centre Street and Stony Brook. In 1752, Commodore
Joshua Loring Joshua Loring (3 August 1716 – September 1781Charles Henry Pope''Loring Genealogy''(Cambridge, Mass., 1917), pp. 78-79) was an 18th-century colonial American naval officer in British service. During the French and Indian War, he served as a ...
bought the old Polley farm and built a home to which he retired. At Jamaica Pond, the provincial governor, Francis Bernard, built a summer home on . In 1769, the community's first church was built paid for by Susannah and Benjamin Pemberton before permission was granted from the two existing parishes of Roxbury. After many appeals and bargains, the families along South Street and to the west were released by the Second Parish in 1772 and the Third Parish of Roxbury was incorporated, and on May 26, 1773, the colonial legislature granted an act "setting off the nine families and their lands from the First Precinct (or parish) of the Town of Roxbury and annexing to the Third Precinct in the said town." During the occupation of Boston, the colonial assembly met in this building. The church was the only church in Jamaica Plain for seventy years and during that time became one of the original Unitarian churches and continues on the same site now known as the First Church in Jamaica Plain. The original white clapboard building was replaced by the stone Romanesque Revival building in 1854 designed by the architect Nathaniel Bradlee. (Pictured above.) The Minutemen from the Third Parish fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill under the command of Captain Lemuel Child and are commemorated on a plaque next to the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
Monument. In 1775, troops from
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
were quartered with residents of Jamaica Plain. General
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
stationed troops on Weld Hill, today's Bussey Hill in the Arnold Arboretum. The units protected the road south to Dedham (Centre Street), where the American arsenal was kept, in case the British broke the
siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...
. With the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, many of the
Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
estate owners fled the country, and were replaced by the rising elite of the new Boston. In 1777,
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor o ...
purchased an estate near the pond. The widow Ann Doane bought the estate once owned by Loyalist Joshua Loring (which is still standing, as the Loring-Greenough House). She soon was remarried, to attorney David S. Greenough. When
Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, an ...
became governor of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, he bought the former Peacock Tavern. It was located on Centre Street (near today's Allandale Street and the Faulkner Hospital). With his wealth made in the China trade, James Perkins built his home, Pinebank, overlooking Jamaica Pond in 1802.


Revolution to annexation

The early years of the 19th century continued the trends of the post-Independence years. An aqueduct was built to Boston and inner Roxbury by the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct Corporation, which provided water to Boston, Roxbury and later the Town of West Roxbury, from 1795 to 1886. Carriages carried people to Roxbury and Boston on Centre Street (then, the Highway to Dedham), and in 1806 on the new Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike toll road (present day Washington Street). In 1826, "hourlies" ran from Jamaica Plain to Roxbury and Boston on a regular schedule, and the 1830s brought larger "omnibuses" to carry the growing passenger base. The first train line reached Jamaica Plain in 1834 when the Boston and Providence Rail Road began service, with special low "commuter" fares offered residents in 1839. Stops at Boylston Street and Tollgate (present day Forest Hills) were joined by a station at Woolsey Square (Green Street) at the request of local residents. Green Street, laid out in 1836 to connect Centre Street and the Toll road, (Washington Street) became a hub of local artisans and builders. Soon after, Centre Street near Green Street became a retail main street, with grocers attracting local business providing products from the West Indies and common household goods. During the 1840s, as commuters from Boston settled in Jamaica Plain, the local market grew, with artisans and businesses - with proprietors living in the community - providing much of the needed products and services. In the Stony Brook valley along the rail line adjacent to Roxbury, a small industrial center formed, with small chemical factories, tanneries and soap factories taking advantage of the running water, isolation, access to transportation, and available land. Reflecting the growing population, a number of new churches were built. Four churches opened and served the new, more varied population. By 1850, the once agricultural community had seen a significant change in its population. Only 10% of its heads of household were listed as farmers, while 28% were businessmen and professionals, and another 20% were Irish-born. In an effort to stem the increase in property taxes to support the rapidly urbanizing inner Roxbury area, the owners of the large estates in Jamaica Plain led a successful effort in 1851 to secede from Roxbury and form a new, suburban town of West Roxbury. Meanwhile, growth continued unabated. In 1850, David S. Greenough developed the south end of his family land into four streets, including today's McBride Street. Three years later, he sold land along the east side of the railroad tracks for the new Jamaica Plain Gas Light Company. In 1857, the new West Roxbury Railroad Company extended their horse rail car line to a depot on South Street, at the site of today's public housing project opposite McBride Street. During the same years, ice houses lined the south shore of Jamaica Pond. Ice was harvested each winter by the Jamaica Plain Ice Company and sold in Boston and beyond until the 1890s, when the City of Boston bought the pond. Continuing the transportation development that both served Jamaica Plain's commuters and spurred further urban development, the Boston and Providence company added a second track in 1860, a third in 1870, and a fourth in 1890. Many of the new residents were Irish and Catholic, and to serve their needs th
Archdiocese of Boston
began construction of St Thomas Aquinas Church on South Street, with a grammar school following in 1873. In less than a generation, Jamaica Plain had changed significantly, and the wealthy estate owners no longer held power. In 1873, West Roxbury residents – most living in Jamaica Plain – voted in favor of annexation to Boston. The Town of West Roxbury had grown from 2,700 residents in 1850 to 9,000 in 1875, and many of the new residents wanted the advantages of the services (street grading, sewer lines) that the City of Boston could provide.


Formation of Boston neighborhood

As Jamaica Plain became a part of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, the rate of growth continued to increase. The
triple decker A three-decker or triple-decker, in the United States, is a three-story ( triplex) apartment building. These buildings are typical of light-framed, wood construction, where each floor usually consists of a single apartment, and frequently, or ...
house, a defining image in urban New England architecture, first showed up in the 1870s, and spread rapidly in the 1890s. In Jamaica Plain, the first commercial blocks were built in the 1870s, with the first brick commercial building erected in 1875. In 1873, the imposing brick police station was built on Seaverns Avenue, and a year later the recently built Eliot School was renamed West Roxbury High School, only to be changed to Jamaica Plain High School after annexation. The Stony Brook valley had long been the industrial center of Jamaica Plain. In 1871, the Haffenreffer brewery opened near Boylston and Amory Streets, taking advantage of the Stony Brook aquifer and the presence of German immigrants in the area. The same year, th
Boylston ''Schul Verein'' German social club
opened just across the railroad tracks, one of many organizations that served German residents in the neighborhood. To the south, th

opened an industrial fan factory in 1878 along the railroad tracks between Williams and Green Street, which grew to employ 500 employees. In 1901, the factory suffered a massive fire and the company moved to Hyde Park several miles south. The continued movement of both residents and businesses into the Stony Brook valley brought calls to contain the brook, prevent floods, and provide sewer drainage. During the 1870s, the brook was deepened and contained within wooden walls, but the spring thaw resulted in flooding of surrounding streets, and a new effort. Work continued until 1908, when the brook was placed into a shallow culvert from Forest Hills to its present outlet in the Boston Fens, behind the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
. In the following years, the brook that once defined the industrial heart of Jamaica Plain was largely forgotten, until it was memorialized by the new Stony Brook Orange Line station at Boylston Street. Breweries continued to be major employers during these years. On Heath Street, the Highland Spring Brewery had been operating since 1867. In the 1880s, the Eblana and Park breweries and the American Brewing Company opened, taking advantage of local German and Irish immigrants to fill jobs. Franklin Brewery extended the beermaking district to Washington Street. These and other breweries were all closed to beer making during Prohibition, and few survived to reopen after repeal, although many found other uses, and some still stand. An exception was Haffenreffer, which continued until 1964. The old building now houses a number of commercial establishments, including the
Boston Beer Company The Boston Beer Company is an American brewery founded in 1984. Boston Beer Company's first brand of beer was named Samuel Adams after Founding Father Samuel Adams, an American revolutionary patriot. Since its founding, Boston Beer has started ...
, brewers of Samuel Adams beer, as well as the nonprofit Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation. A late survivor was Croft Ale, brewed in the Highland Spring Brewery building until 1953, when it became the Rosoff Pickle factory, where the pickle vats could be seen from the commuter trains passing by. A notable company that moved to Heath Street after prohibition was the
Moxie Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Mass ...
soft drink company. Invented by Augustin Thompson in
Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...
in 1876, the company marketed the distinctively flavored Moxie to shift it from medicinal "tonic" to soft drink, much like
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...
, and it outsold Coke in 1920. The company stopped advertising their distinctive product during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and never recovered their lost market share. After the plant closed in 1953, the building was torn down by the City of Boston for the new Bromley Heath public housing projects. During the late 19th century, Jamaica Plain's housing stock grew with the commercial development, providing homes for workers in local businesses and commuters as well. Sumner Hill, based on the old Greenough estate, became home to business owners and managers. In the 1880s, the Parley Vale estate and Robinwood Avenue were developed to serve the same market. Ten years later, Moss Hill Road and Woodland Road were laid out on land owned by the Bowditch family, creating the most exclusive neighborhood in Jamaica Plain until this day. At the same time, the land off South Street was being developed into streets and filled with houses for the working-class population, especially the Irish. By the early 20th century, the streets of Jamaica Plain were filled in, and houses or businesses were on most buildable plots. The entire housing stock of Jamaica Plain had been owned, divided, financed, built and sold largely by Jamaica Plain residents.


Early 20th century

The year 1900 brought another major employer to Jamaica Plain when
Thomas Gustave Plant Thomas Gustave Plant (1859–1941) was born in Bath, ME, the son of French-Canadian immigrants, who made his fortune manufacturing shoes under the Queen Quality Shoes label. His largest shoe factory, the Thomas G. Plant Shoe Factory (1896-1976) ...
built a factory for his Queen Quality Shoe Company at Centre and Bickford Streets, said to be the largest women's shoe factory in the world at the time, with five thousand workers. In order to avoid the labor strife that was common at the time, the company offered a park beside the factory, recreation rooms, a gym, library, dance hall, and sponsored sports teams that competed in local leagues. Shoes continued to be made in the building until the 1950s, but arson burned the massive brick structure down in 1976. The site is now home to a supermarket. In 1900, Jamaica Plain had a significant immigrant population, which helped shape the future of the community. Many
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
had settled in large numbers in the Heath Street, South Street, Forest Hills and Stony Brook area (Brookside), taking laboring and domestic jobs, and becoming one-quarter of the population. Germans had reached 14%, living in Hyde Square, Egleston Square and Brookside, employed as skilled workers and managers, with their own social clubs and churches.
Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, many from the Maritime Provinces, made up 12% of the population, often working in white collar or skilled jobs. Italians would come as well, in the years after 1910. New technologies allowed local businesses to provide jobs into the new century. In the 1910s, Randall-Faichney Company manufactured automobile parts, and the Holtzer-Cabot Company moved from making electric motors and telephone switching equipment to add electric automobiles. Religion played a significant part in local life during these years. The increase in Catholic residents resulted in the building of new churches to join St Thomas Aquinas. Our Lady of Lourdes was built in 1896 in Brookside, and Blessed Sacrament, built to serve the residents of Hyde Square, was finished in 1917. St Andrews on Walk Hill street in Forest Hills came soon after. Each church had an elementary school that anchored the parish and bred a strong loyalty in parishioners, and in 1927, St Thomas parish added a high school, which remained open until 1975. Protestant churches inspired a similar local loyalty. Many of the local factory managers served in leadership positions in nearby churches. Central Congregational Church had women's, children's and missionary groups that brought neighbors of different economic classes together. Other civic associations brought the people of Jamaica Plain together. In 1897, the Jamaica Plain Carnival Association formed to manage and promote the
4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
parade, contests and fireworks. Two years later, the Jamaica Plain Businessmen's Association formed to promote commercial development. Within three years, prominent community members were invited to join the newly named Jamaica Plain Citizen's Association. The new group worked to encourage road improvement, playgrounds, lectures, schools, and other community amenities. In 1897, the Tuesday Club formed for women (who were not admitted to the other groups), and still exists at the Loring Greenough house. In the late 19th century, Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks was designed and built by Frederick Law Olmsted, with much of the southern section of the connecting parkland in or bordering on Jamaica Plain. Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...
and Franklin Park have been enjoyed by generations of Jamaica Plain residents. The pond had long been the site of estates, which were torn down to make the new park. Fishing and ice skating were popular pastimes, and each winter ice was removed from the pond before the time of electric refrigeration. With the new park, homes and the commercial icehouses were removed. The Arboretum was developed on land originally owned by the Weld family, and donated by
Benjamin Bussey Benjamin Bussey (17571842) was a prosperous merchant, farmer, horticulturalist and patriot in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, who made significant contributions to the creation of the Arnold Arboretum. He was said to be "a man of exce ...
, with financial support from the will of James Arnold. The Arboretum is now owned by the City of Boston, and managed by
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
. Perhaps the most dramatic building project in Jamaica Plain history was the elevation of the train line above grade in the 1890s. In order to avoid accidents at street crossings, an embankment was built from Roxbury south through Forest Hills station, with bridges over all intersecting streets. The embankment cut through most of Jamaica Plain from north to south. In time, the housing along the embankment came to be devalued, and property to the east of the train line was cut off from the higher income sections of the community.


Redlining, decline and neighborhood activism

In the early 1970s, the city of Boston planned to extend
I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...
from
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...
north into downtown Boston. This threatened to bring I-95 straight through the center of Jamaica Plain, essentially dividing the community in half if executed. Many protests along with support from residents of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and Hyde Park, rallied to stop the construction of the highway, including a now-annual community festival, called "Wake Up The Earth", that mustered residents from surrounding neighborhoods in opposition to the highway. The project had already demolished hundreds of houses and commercial buildings in the highway's path before then-Governor Francis W. Sargent ordered to stop the interstate project. In the 1980s, the Southwest Corridor in its present form was built, creating a parkway, bike path, and site for future Wake Up The Earth festivals in lieu of the highway, now situated atop the underground Orange Line. By 1970, central Jamaica Plain was considered to be in a state of decline. The construction of the proposed highway coupled with and possibly contributing to a decision by Boston banks to cut back mortgage lending (redline) there began a cycle of disinvestment which led to the deterioration of the housing stock, slumlording and abandonment particularly in the central neighborhood along the edges of the corridor. In some cases, homeowners who could not sell due to lack of buyer financing simply walked away from older homes along the corridor's periphery. Urban Edge, founded as a non-profit real estate firm in 1974, found it necessary to recruit volunteer tenants to physically take possession of empty properties to prevent vandalism and arson. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the average life span of an abandoned building was approximately one week. Windows were broken, copper plumbing was stripped out, and buildings were torched. After conducting a research project that documented a dramatic decrease in mortgage lending between 1968 and 1972, activists launched the ''Jamaica Plain Community Investment Plan''. The plan called upon local citizens to pledge to move their savings accounts to a local institution that would guarantee to invest that money in mortgages within Jamaica Plain. The plan eventually generated five hundred thousand dollars in pledges. In 1975 a contract was signed with the Jamaica Plain Cooperative Bank to implement the Community Investment plan. In 1974, the community rallied and under the aegis of an Alinsky-style organizing project funded by The Ecumenical Social Action Committee (ESAC) a coalition of local churches contracted with an experienced Rhode Island-based community organizer, Richard W. "Rick" Wise, who built a series of neighborhood groups and a coalition of leaders into The Jamaica Plain Banking and Mortgage Committee and working with groups from other Boston neighborhoods, leveraged that into the citywide Boston Anti-Redlining Coalition (BARC), The coalition, chaired by long-time neighborhood activist Edwina "Winky" Cloherty, crafted a unique and ultimately successful campaign to force Boston Banks to reveal their lending patterns and a "Greenlining campaign" to both stimulate residential investment in the neighborhood. as well as to publicize and stop the redlining. In 2019, Richard Wise published a novel, Redlined, which outlines the essential elements of the anti-redlining campaign. In October 1974, the committee was also successful in securing a pledge from Gubernatorial candidate Michael Dukakis to require that state chartered banks disclose their lending patterns annually by ZIP code. Upon his election, ignoring threats of litigation by the banks, Dukakis kept his word. On May 16, 1975, the new Banking Commissioner Carol S. Greenwald issued the first statewide mortgage disclosure regulation in the U.S. Subsequent studies based on data obtained by the banking commissioner demonstrated that there was indeed a pattern of disinvestment in the central neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain. Later that year, The Jamaica Plain Banking & Mortgage Committee together with its citywide Boston Anti-Redlining Coalition (BARC) were part of a coalition, under the leadership of the Chicago-based National People's Action, instrumental in the passage of the ''Federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975''. According to former commissioner Greenwald: "Massachusetts success in getting the banks to reveal their lending policies was followed by similar actions in New York, California and Illinois." In the following years, real estate prices stabilized, mortgage money became available and The Southwest Corridor Coalition a task force of local citizens broken down by neighborhoods and aided by state officials, put together a comprehensive master plan to redevelop the corridor. They decided to remove the elevated rapid transit train line on Washington Street and replace it with a below-grade line alongside the train tracks. With the new transit lines in place following the old train embankment, the Southwest Corridor park was built from Forest Hills north through the old Stony Brook valley. Changes to the transit service through Jamaica Plain were followed with a change to the streetcar route as well. The Arborway line, which had been in service since 1903, had long been considered for replacement with bus service by the transportation authority. In 1977, trolley service on the Arborway line from downtown Boston was stopped at Heath Street, with buses continuing to Forest Hills. Service resumed, but were cut again in the 1980s, and has not been resumed since. This decision has been challenged by citizen groups in Jamaica Plain in the courts, and is still in dispute.


Urban renewal

In the 1980s low rents brought many students to the area, especially those who attended the Museum School, Mass Art, and
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North Ca ...
, who often lived in collective households. The neighborhood also developed a
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
community. The presence of artists in the neighborhood led to the opening of local galleries and bookstores, and arts centers such as the Jamaica Plain Arts Center, which shared space in a vacated City of Boston Firehouse with Brueggers Bagel Company for several years. This site is currently the JP Licks ice cream store. Many first-time homebuyers were able to afford the house and condominium prices in Jamaica Plain during this time. In the mid-1980s, an important music scene developed in Jamaica Plain which continues to the present day. Revitalization continued in the 1990s. Nonprofit housing groups bought rundown houses and vacant lots to create low-income rental units.Urban Edge History
accessed on July 30, 2006.

, JPNDC, accessed on July 30, 2006.
During the same years, the former Plant Shoe Factory site was redeveloped as JP Plaza, a strip mall, and later a supermarket. A new facility for the Martha Eliot Health Center completed the site's redevelopment. As part of a citywide effort, Boston Main Streets districts were named (Hyde/Jackson Square, Egleston Square, and Centre/South), bringing city funds and tools of neighborhood revitalization to local business owners.


Present day

By the turn of the 21st century, the neighborhood had attracted a large community of college-educated professionals, political
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
s and
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
s."Anything But Plain"
''Boston Globe Magazine'', January 1, 2006]
Examples of artist and activist organizations active or incorporated in Jamaica Plain include Grassroots International, Urbano Project, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, Boston Postdoctoral Association, City Life/Vida Urbana, JP Progressives, and
Bikes Not Bombs Bikes Not Bombs is a Boston, Massachusetts based nonprofit that uses the bicycle as a vehicle for social change by recycling donated bicycles, training young people to fix their own bikes and become employable mechanics and sending thousands of bic ...
. Hyde, Jackson, and Egleston Squares have significant Spanish-speaking populations mainly from the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, but also from
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...
. As of 2010 the ethnic make-up of Jamaica Plain was 53.6% White (alone), 22% Hispanic or Latino (all races), 13.5% Black or African-American (alone), 7.9% Asian (alone), 3% Other. In 2016, the neighborhood between Jackson Square and Hyde Square was officially designated the "Latin Quarter" by the city of Boston, after years of informal recognition by residents, Latin activists, and local politicians. The area has a large number of Latin owned businesses and residents, and is the center of local festivals, churches, and activist groups, such as La Piñata, the ''¡Viva! el Latin Quarter'' project of the Hyde Square Task Force, and nearby Vida Urbana. The newspaper ''El Mundo'' is based in Hyde Square. The elimination of
redlining In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services ( financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have sign ...
and the stabilization of the real estate market in the late 1970s and the redevelopment of the Southwest Corridor set the stage for gentrification that began in the 1990s. A hot real estate market has driven dramatic increases in the value of older homes in the Parkside, Pondside and Sumner Hill neighborhoods and conversion of some larger residential properties and older commercial buildings into condominia. Numerous formerly vacant structures are being converted to residential use, among them the ABC Brewery, the Gormley Funeral Home, the Eblana Brewery, the Oliver Ditson Company, 319 Centre Street, Jackson Square, JP Cohousing, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of the Way, and 80 Bickford Street. The oldest community theater group in the US,
Footlight Club The Footlight Club is the oldest continuously-running community theater group in the United States of America, having performed every year since 1877. It is a non-profit organization, incorporated as such in 1927. Based in the Jamaica Plain neig ...
, is based out of Eliot Hall in this neighborhood, on Eliot Street.


Geography


Sub-neighborhoods

Jamaica Plain is made up of a number of distinct historical subdistricts. Some of the names are now archaic, used less by longtime residents than scholars and real estate agents. *Brookside: roughly bounded by Boylston Street, Green Street, Washington Street, and the Southwest Corridor Park *Egleston Square: intersection of Columbus Avenue and Washington Street at the border between Jamaica Plain and Roxbury * Forest Hills: roughly bounded by the Arborway, Morton Street, Walk Hill Street, South Street and
Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a publ ...
*Hyde Square: the area around the intersection of Centre Street, Day Street, and Perkins Street, extending east along Centre Street towards Roxbury *Jackson Square: intersection of Columbus Avenue and Centre Street. Site of an
MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network i ...
Orange Line station *Jamaica Hills: northwest of the Arnold Arboretum, including Moss Hill and Green Hill *Parkside: roughly bounded by Washington Street, Egleston Square, Morton Street and Franklin Park *Pondside: roughly bounded by Centre Street, Perkins Street, and
the Jamaicaway Jamaicaway (also known as The Jamaicaway) is a four-lane, undivided parkway in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts near the border of Brookline. History Jamaicaway was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Emerald ...
*South Street: follows the named street on either side from the Monument (on Centre Street) to Forest Hills *Stonybrook: with an active neighborhood association, documented boundaries begin at Rockvale Circle southwest on Washington Street encompassing Burnett Street at McBride Street, cutting southeast across MBTA bus yard to Lotus Street, and northeast up Forest Hills Street back to Rockvale Circle. *Sumner Hill: roughly bounded by Seaverns Avenue, Everett Street, Sedgwick Street, and Newbern Street *Sunnyside: roughly bounded by Centre Street, Day Street, Round Hill Street, and Gay Head Street *The Monument: Overlapping with Pondside above, the area around the intersection of Centre and South Streets * Woodbourne: south of Forest Hills, bounded by Walk Hill Street, Goodway Street, and Wachusett Street *
White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football c ...
: no longer recognized; its territory included part of Hyde Park Ave and certain blocks of which are now considered part of Woodbourne


Green spaces

Jamaica Plain, often referred to in the 19th century as "the Eden of America,

is one of the greenest neighborhoods in the city of Boston. The community contains or is bordered by a number of jewels of the Emerald Necklace park system designed in the 19th century by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
: * Olmsted Park: from Route 9 at the Riverway south to Perkins Street, including Leverett Pond, Willow Pond, and Ward's Pond * Jamaica Pond: has of surface area and is the largest and deepest body of fresh water in Boston *
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...
: is a world-renowned plant collection maintained by
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
, and contains Peters' Hill, named for Boston Mayor Andrew J. Peters, the highest elevation in Jamaica Plain at * Franklin Park: is a park (the largest in the city) and holds the
Franklin Park Zoo The Franklin Park Zoo is a zoo located in Boston, Massachusetts. It is currently operated by Zoo New England, which also operates the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The zoo is located in the northeast portion of Franklin Park, Boston's ...
(the largest
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...
in
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
), White Stadium and the
William J. Devine Memorial Golf Course William J. Devine Memorial Golf Course, colloquially referred to as and contained within Franklin Park, is a municipal golf course in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by the neighborhoods of Dorchester and Rox ...
These parks are connected by parkways, each of which is also part of the Emerald Necklace. From south to north these are the
Arborway Arborway (also known as The Arborway) consists of a four-lane, divided parkway and a two lane residential street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s as the south most ...
, the
Jamaicaway Jamaicaway (also known as The Jamaicaway) is a four-lane, undivided parkway in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts near the border of Brookline. History Jamaicaway was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Emeral ...
, and the
Riverway Riverway, also referred to as "the Riverway," is a parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway is a link in the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Starting at the Landmark Center end ...
. The area also includes
Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a publ ...
, a “
garden cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...
”, and hundreds more acres of cemetery that stretch along Walk Hill Street offer more green space to the area.


Education


Primary and secondary schools

Students in Jamaica Plain are served by
Boston Public Schools Boston Public Schools (BPS) is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest public school district in the state of Massachusetts. Leadership The district is led by a Superintendent (education), S ...
(BPS). BPS assigns students based on preferences of the applicants and priorities of students in various zones.
The English High School The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...
located in Jamaica Plain is one of the first public high schools in
America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
operates Roman Catholic schools. In spring 2009 the archdiocese announced that Our Lady of Lourdes School, a K–8 school and the last Catholic school in Jamaica Plain, will close unless parents raise $500,000 for one additional year of instruction. In spring 2009 the school had 187 students, which was 30 fewer students than its 2005 count. Private schools in the area include the
British School of Boston The British International School of Boston (formerly known as the British School of Boston) is a non-sectarian, co-educational college preparatory day school located in the Moss Hill section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood in Boston, MA. BISB ...
and
Showa Boston Institute for Language and Culture is a women's private university in Setagaya, Tokyo, Japan. The university has undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs and five research institutes. It also contains affiliated schools that span from kindergarten to high school. Aside ...
.


Transportation

Jamaica Plain is served by the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network ...
(MBTA)'s bus and rail services. Major roads are Centre Street, the
Jamaicaway Jamaicaway (also known as The Jamaicaway) is a four-lane, undivided parkway in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts near the border of Brookline. History Jamaicaway was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted as part of Emeral ...
(formerly US 1), the
Arborway Arborway (also known as The Arborway) consists of a four-lane, divided parkway and a two lane residential street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s as the south most ...
( MA 203), Washington Street, South Street, and South Huntington Avenue.


Public transportation

The Green Line's E branch streetcar service terminates at Heath Street and South Huntington Avenue. Bus service continues along South Huntington Avenue, Centre Street, and South Street to its terminus at the Forest Hills Station. The Orange Line rapid transit train line runs below street level through the middle of Jamaica Plain, with stops at Jackson Square, Stony Brook, Green Street, and Forest Hills. Buses connect Jamaica Plain with Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and suburban Dedham, Westwood and Walpole to the south, and the rest of Boston by street routes. The 39 bus is the primary Jamaica Plain bus route, and is one of Boston's most-used bus lines. The Forest Hills Station is a major transportation hub and is within walking distance of the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...
and
Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a publ ...
. The E branch was "temporarily" suspended from Heath Street to Forest Hills in the mid-1980s, but proposals to restore the service have caused considerable tension in the area. Some residents and commuters want the restoration of the branch, which is seen as a reconnection with the rest of the city. However, others state that the #39 bus along the old route, and the Orange Line just a few blocks away, duplicate the extension.


Commuter rail

The
Needham Line The Needham Line is a branch of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running west from downtown Boston, Massachusetts through Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and the town of Needham. The second-shortest line of the system at jus ...
of the Commuter Rail stops at Forest Hills Station, and many other lines are easily accessible by riding the Orange Line subway train to Ruggles and Back Bay.


Cars and parking

Municipal parking lots are located off Centre Street at Burroughs Street in Jamaica Plain Center, across from the Mary Curley School on Centre Street at Spring Park Ave., and across from Blessed Sacrament Church in Hyde Square. There are few parking meters in Jamaica Plain; on-street parking is free. Many streets near the MBTA Orange Line stations are posted "resident permit only" during working hours (8 AM to 6 PM). This is intended to discourage commuters from using residential streets as parking lots during the day.


Bicycle paths

Two major bicycle paths serve Jamaica Plain. Along the
Southwest Corridor Park Southwest Corridor Park is a linear urban park in Boston, Massachusetts, part of the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It extends from the South End and ...
is the Pierre Lallement Bicycle Path, which runs from Forest Hills to Back Bay. To the west are bicycle paths, which run through the parks of the Emerald Necklace, along the Jamaicaway and Riverway.


Notable people

* Robert Bacon (1860–1919), United States Secretary of State *
Emily Greene Balch Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867 – January 9, 1961) was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist. Balch combined an academic career at Wellesley College with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty, child labor, ...
(1867–1961), Nobel Peace Prize winner, founder of
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...
*
Harold Hitz Burton Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Sta ...
(1888–1964),
Mayor of Cleveland The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of government of the City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's mayor–council (strong mayor) system, the mayor oversees all city services and is "responsible for e ...
, U.S. Senator of
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
and Supreme Court Justice *
John F. Collins John Frederick Collins (July 20, 1919 – November 23, 1995) was an American lawyer who served as the mayor of Boston from 1960 to 1968. Collins was a lawyer who served in the Massachusetts Legislature from 1947 to 1955. He and his children cau ...
(1919–1995), Mayor of Boston *
James Michael Curley James Michael Curley (November 20, 1874 – November 12, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served four terms as mayor of Boston. He also served a single term as governor of Massachusetts, characterize ...
(1874–1958), Mayor of Boston,
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...
, and U.S. Representative *
James Dole James Drummond Dole (September 27, 1877 – May 20, 1958), also known as the "Pineapple King", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) which was late ...
(1877–1958), American industrialist of the Hawaiian pineapple industry, founder of present-day
Dole Food Company Dole plc (previously named Dole Food Company, Standard Fruit Company) is an Irish agricultural multinational corporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is among the world's largest producers of fruit and vegetables, operating wit ...
*
George Dorr George Bucknam Dorr (December 29, 1853 – August 5, 1944) was an American preservationist. Known as the "father of Acadia National Park,"
(1853–1944), preservationist and co-founder of today's
Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, an ...
* Ruby Foo (1904–1950), restaurateur *
William Heath William Heath (March 2, 1737 – January 24, 1814) was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Life and career Heath m ...
(1737–1814), farmer, political leader, Continental Army Major General *
Joshua Loring Joshua Loring (3 August 1716 – September 1781Charles Henry Pope''Loring Genealogy''(Cambridge, Mass., 1917), pp. 78-79) was an 18th-century colonial American naval officer in British service. During the French and Indian War, he served as a ...
(1716–1781), British Naval officer, Loyalist *
Joey McIntyre Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the youngest member of the pioneering boy band, New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo ar ...
(1972– ) Entertainer, Member of Pop Act New Kids On The Block *
Malcolm Nichols Malcolm Edwin Nichols (May 8, 1876 – February 7, 1951) was a journalist and a U.S. political figure. Nichols served as the Mayor of Boston in the late 1920s. He came from a Boston Brahmin family and was the most recent Republican to serve in ...
(1876–1951), last Republican Mayor of Boston to date *
Francis Parkman Francis Parkman Jr. (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of '' The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life'' and his monumental seven-volume '' France and England in North Am ...
(1823–1892), historian *
Andrew James Peters Andrew James Peters (April 3, 1872 – June 26, 1938) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives and was the 42nd Mayor of Boston. Early years Peters was born on April 3, 1872, in Jamaica Plain, a neigh ...
(1872–1938), State Representative, Mayor of Boston during the Boston Police Strike *
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...
(1932–1963), poet, novelist, and short-story writer * Gary Provost (1944–1995), writer * Jeremy Strong (1978–), actor, lived in Jamaica Plain in childhood. * Maurice Joseph Tobin (1901–1953), Mayor of Boston, Governor of Massachusetts,
United States Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
* William F. Wharton (1847–1919), U.S. Assistant Secretary of State *
Greg Selkoe use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , ...
(1975), Entrepreneur


References

Notes Further reading * ''Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston'', by Sam B. Warner, Jr. (1962), Harvard University Press and M.I.T. Press
''Jamaica Plain''
by Anthony M. Sammarco (1997.) Soft cover, 128 pages. Arcadia. Images of America series. * ''A Home in the Heart of a City: A Woman's Search for Community'' (Hardcover), by Kathleen Hirsch, North Point Pr (1998), . * * ''Jamaica Plain: Then & Now'' by Anthony M. Sammarco, soft cover, 96 pages. Arcadia. * ''Redlined, A Novel of Boston by Richard W. Wise, Audible Books/Brunswick House Press (2020), ASIN B0887NK36H * ''Edwina'' by Jill Hofstra, soft cover, 252 pages. Jill Hofstra's new book ''Edwina'' chronicles the life of a girl who lived in Jamaica Plain in the early 20th century. * ''Local Attachments: The Making of an American Urban Neighborhood, 1850 to 1920''. (Creating the North American Landscape) Paperback – April 22, 1996 by Professor Alexander Von Hoffman


External links

*
Jamaica Plain Historical Society records, 1855–2015
University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library,
University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massa ...
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Boston Gay villages in Massachusetts LGBT culture in Boston Streetcar suburbs