At the corner of Carolina Avenue and Lee Street in Jamaica Plain sits a charming cottage on an unusually large parcel of land for the surrounding neighborhood. This house, at 101 Carolina Avenue, was the first to be built on the street. Though significant for its age, also important is the role it played in the history of Jamaica Plain. In 1913, the house transformed from a single-family home into the home of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood House Association. This article explores the history of the people who lived within its walls and, later, its life as a settlement house.

VictorianCharlie RosenbergDecember 1, 2020Jenny Nathans, social work

History of the Development of Green St. 1836-1900

The development history of Green Street provides a unique window through which to observe the patterns of change that took place in the Jamaica Plain community over the last three quarters of the nineteenth century.

Locales, VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyDecember 4, 2016

Moss Hill Memoir

In the Victorian era Jamaica Plains' 200 acre Moss Hill was also known as Bowditch Hill, named for one branch of the Bowditch family of Salem fame, who lived there. Grandfather Jonathan Bowditch brought his family to Moss Hill in the mid-19th century.

Locales, VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyMarch 1, 2004Memoir

Pinebank, a Former Homestead in Jamaica Plain

An old Jamaica Plain homestead is best known by the name of the former estate, over which it once presided: Pinebank, so called from its pine-surrounded rise on the north shore of Jamaica Pond.

Victorian, LocalesJamaica Plain Historical SocietyFebruary 15, 2004Estates

Sumner Hill Historic District

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. The text below is excerpted from the registration form submitted to the National Park Service in 1987. The nomination form is dated April 1985; revised June 1986.

Locales, VictorianJamaica Plain Historical SocietyJanuary 14, 2004National Register