Women’s Defense Corps

In the middle of the twentieth century, when bombs fell from the skies and soldiers marched off to battlefields half a world away, women at home faced a choice. They could stand by, waiting anxiously for news from the front lines. Or they could organize, train, and step forward as defenders themselves. Out of this choice emerged the Women’s Defense Corps—a movement that saw women don uniforms, drill in formation, and prepare to protect their families and communities in times of crisis.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietySeptember 13, 2025military, WWII

Minstrel Frolic of April 1913

In August 2025 the Jamaica Plain Historical Society acquired this program from an online reseller. The JP Council of the Knights of Columbus occupied a building (not extant) at the corner of Green and Rockview Streets. But they rented out the New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall for this 1913 show. There are many advertisements that detail businesses in JP.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietySeptember 1, 2025theater, Knights of Columbus

How African American Leaders Helped Put People Before Highways in Boston

The Southwest Corridor Park is one of JP’s many green spaces. It exists because of a grassroots effort to stop Interstate 95 (I-95). Residents came together, showing how neighbors could help determine use of the land in their communities. If not for that success, there would now be an enormous roadway scarring the center of our neighborhood, permanently dividing one side from the other.

20th Century, LocalesJamaica Plain Historical SocietyJune 12, 2024Hidden Jamaica Plain

Bernat Superior Looms Company: A Brief History

Emile Bernat, the founder of Emile Bernat & Sons, came to Boston from his native Hungary about 1902. In the 1930s he ran a company called “Bernat Superior Looms.” The address was 99 Bickford Street (they were in the old Thomas Plant Shoe Factory). The looms were to complement the work done with their “superior” yarns.

'Jamaica Plain Spoken' Video Interview Project

Jamaica Plain Spoken was a video/interview project that JP musician Rick Berlin started with his friend Todd Drogy in 2004. It consists of nearly sixty interviews with people of all genders, beliefs, ages and ethnicities. Just a bunch of local characters describing their lives and offering their opinions about Jamaica Plain. The project was stopped due to a lack of funding, so the YouTube clips are all that remain. Those links are gathered here.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyAugust 14, 2020oral history, videos

Matthew O'Gorman Square

The intersection of Prince Street and Pond Street (where it is contiguous with the Arborway) is designated as Matthew O’Gorman Square. This hero square was dedicated on October 12, 1921.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyAugust 12, 2019hero square

Lieutenant John Thomas Carr, Purple Heart Recipient

In 1918 a US Coast Guard Cutter was torpedoed in the Irish Sea. One of its victims was from Jamaica Plain. One hundred years later his next-of-kin is being sought to receive the Purple Heart awarded to Lt. John Thomas Carr.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyJune 17, 2019Peter O'Brien

The Clock

Jamaica Plain old-timers will remember that only two clocks really mattered in our youth. One was outside of the Boston Five Cents Savings Bank at 696 Centre St. and the other important clock was in the lobby of the Jamaica Theatre at Hyde Square.

20th CenturyCharlie RosenbergJanuary 11, 2019Peter O'Brien, Businesses, Landmarks

Chinese Owned Businesses in Jamaica Plain

The International Chinese Business Business Directory of 1913 included four entries for Chinese-owned businesses in Jamaica Plain.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyOctober 8, 2018Businesses

Jimmy Durante Visits Jamaica Plain

Jimmy Durante and his entourage paid a visit to Hanlon’s Shoe Store in Jamaica Plain in 1958. During a visit to Boston to perform in a downtown club Durante asked where the best place was to buy shoes in Boston and was directed to Hanlon’s Shoes on Centre St. Mr. Durante purchased five pairs of shoes on that first visit to Hanlon’s and returned on a number of occasions to make additional purchases.

20th Century, PeopleJamaica Plain Historical SocietyNovember 23, 2017Shoemaker

Boston remembers Kurt Cobain

The iconic 90s grunge band Nirvana first played Boston in Jamaica Plain. The band’s first Hub gig was at Green Street Station on July 15, 1989, a show notable in its own right: Cobain, who broke his guitar the night before, performed the entire nine-song set without one.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyNovember 13, 2017Music

Tracy Family Remembrances

Rememberances of the Tracy family who were caretakers of the Loring-Greenough House.

20th CenturyJamaica Plain Historical SocietyNovember 12, 2017