Roxbury and Dorchester

Roxbury was once its own town connected to Boston [1] by a narrow isthmus. As the sea filled in, however, the boundary between it and Boston blurred until it was sucked up and annexed by its northern neighbor.

In the 20th century, African Americans displaced from downtown settled around Dudley Square and on the heights of Fort Hill. The area is still the heart of Boston’s Black community, where you can find African clothing stores and soul food along with Caribbean grocers.

Between Roxbury and South Boston [2] is the sprawling plain of Dorchester, a true melting pot of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Irish, among other ethnicities. Upham’s Corner is home to a vibrant community of immigrants from the African islands of Cape Verde, while Field’s Corner is a little Saigon of Vietnamese restaurants and cafés.