Dorchester Historical Society House History

Buildings are vessels of memory. None more so than homes. When the histories of hundreds of neighborhood homes are compiled together, the buildings and their stories supply an understanding of place.


This is the case with the Dorchester Historical Society (DHS) House Histories. Over 560 house histories and counting have been recorded. Collectively, these histories connect the residents of Dorchester to their neighborhood and inform how and why Dorchester looks the way it does–from native lands to rural town, and onward to streetcar suburb. Today, Dorchester is Boston’s largest and most populated neighborhood with 1 in 5 Bostonians living within it.


When we connect with our past we learn how the city has been shaped around us. What was preserved? What was demolished? These reports are like an oral history of sorts, being meticulously researched then shared as part of a collective memory of place. The story of Dorchester can read by anyone. As more house histories are researched, a fuller story of the neighborhood is revealed. We at the Alliance are proud to honor the work of the Dorchester Historical Society with a Stewardship Award.