Mission Hill? Jamaica Plain? It's All Roxbury to Me

The Third Decade writes: "For years people have debated where the boundary between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain is over in the Mission Hill area, although most people settle on Heath Street as the line. Recently, however, I've noticed that more websites have either been listing Mission Hill as its own neighborhood or as part of Jamaica Plain."

Boundary issues have been something of a recurring theme here at the City Record and Boston News-Letter.  I've written about the Roxbury/South End border,  about why boundaries matter, and the description of the Town of Roxbury in 1821.  I'm going to tackle the Mission Hill/Roxbury/Jamaica Plain issue today.

First, Mission Hill is not part of Jamaica Plain.  Look at the two names.  One has "hill" in it, the other "plain".  These two geographic features are mutually exclusive.  Jamaica Plain was that part of Roxbury which flattened out from Fort Hill and Mission Hill, from the Stony Brook over to Jamaica Pond.  Heath Street is pretty good boundaryline between Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain because it is the old road circling the hill, much like Cambridge Street and Charles Street help define Beacon Hill, or Hancock Street, Pleasant Street, and Stoughton Street define Jones Hill in Dorchester.  In other words, you know when you're stepping off of a hill.

I think the confusion stems from the fact that at one time Roxbury encompassed Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and what is now West Roxbury, among other areas.  West Roxbury broke off from Roxbury in 1851 and became a separate town, only to be annexed to Boston in 1874.  Jamaica Plain never was a seperate town.  It was a neighborhood within Roxbury, just like Mission Hill. 

Parker Street is another boundary street for Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury.  The portion of Parker Street which used to run between Heath and Centre Streets in Roxbury was laid out in 1662 and named "from Heath Street by John Parker's to Worcester turnpike (now Tremont Street) and across same to Mill-Dam (now Beacon Street) May 9, 1825.  In other words, Parker Street provided the connection from the Mill Dam in the Back Bay to Centre Street in Roxbury, which was the main road to Dedham which made Parker Street a crucial part of the early Boston area road system.  Later, Parker Street was bisected by Huntington Avenue, with the portion going from Huntington Avenue to Kenmore Square becoming Hemenway Street in 1898.

So yes, Mission Hill qualifies as its own neighborhood but only the wishful thinking of real estate agents makes it part of Jamaica Plain.  It is part of Roxbury, just like Jamaica Plain.

Update:  Jon from Bostonist asks, "So historically JP is part of Roxbury - but not now, right? Mission Hill and JP qualify both as separate neighborhoods? The thing that confuses me the most is why the USPS can't get with our system of neighborhoods and actually use zip codes that are reflective of the neighborhood they're in." 

JP will always be a part of Roxbury but people don't think of it that way.  Like Dorchester, JP has its own separate system of sub-neighborhoods. Mission Hill does not, which I think tends to make people believe that JP is or was its own town at some point in history.  It is important to note that our current zip code system came into place in 1963 and the zip code boundaries had more to do with the location of the post offices within the areas defined by zip codes, not the historic boundaries of neighborhoods--this seems to be pretty good overview of zip code assignation.

Link: The Third Decade: The Incredible Shrinking Roxbury.

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Comments

[jon]

So historically JP is part of Roxbury - but not now, right? Mission Hill and JP qualify both as separate neighborhoods? The thing that confuses me the most is why the USPS can't get with our system of neighborhoods and actually use zip codes that are reflective of the neighborhood they're in. Why are there some parts of 02119 that require you to have a JP parking permit to park on the street. Oh the humanity!

[Ron Newman]

When West Roxbury separated from Roxbury, the new boundary passed right through the middle of what we now call Jamaica Plain. This is why the West Roxbury District Court is at Forest Hills in JP.

And speaking of which... even though it's called Jamaica Plain, it certainly has hills, as evidenced by the name Forest Hills. Moss Hill is part of JP, and so is Bussey Hill, which is in the Arnold Arboretum. (The Arboretum's other hill, Peters Hill, probably belongs to Roslindale.)

[The Editor]

Ron:

Here is the description of the Town of Roxbury from 1821:

"On the northeast skirts of the town there is about one thousand acres of marsh; south-westerly whereof about three fourths of a mile the soil is rich and fertile, and within this parallel the most compact part of the town is built. Then proceeding still south-west the surface becomes more uneven with some considerable swells and ledges of rocks for about half a mile when you break in up the beautiful plain called Jamaica Plains, which is composed of a rich and productive soil, cultivated in a great degree as gardens and orchards, and producing vast quantities of vegetables and fruit of the first quality. This plain is about two miles in length and on in breadth, on which are dispersed a great number of country seats and pleasure grounds. The east and south-east, including about one third of the town, is considerably broken and rocky with about two thousand acres of woodland, but notwithstanding there are many good farms within this space."

The 1821 description describes the marshy area of the Back Bay that belonged to Roxbury, then the Dudley Square area which is "the most compact part of the town", then Fort Hill, and then Jamaica Plain(s) which, was solely that area which consisted of the plains noted above. After that initial naming, and more settlement, other sub-neighborhoods came to be seen as part of Jamaica Plain. Thanks for the information on the courthouse!

[sarah c]

On one level you can decide where one neighborhood starts & another ends eventually, but in one sense it's eternally fluid. . . I've noticed that in real estate marketing terms Roxbury is shrinking as the South End & JP grow since they are more desirable addresses at the present time. Each year according to Arrow Map several streets move out of their boston listings into JP or the South End.
I do real estate anaylsis for a living which is why I notice this.

[Rik]

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is a major reason why people often think Mission Hill is part of Jamaica Plain. Until recently, their maps usually included Mission Hill as part of JP.

The historic Roxbury/West Roxbury boundary that the Boston Landmarks Commision uses is Centre Street, which was the de facto boundary between Roxbury and West Roxbury and still is when it comes to Public Works and trash day. Trash pickup north of Centre Street is in the Roxbury District, so it's twice a week, while south of Centre Street it's the West Roxbury District, which is once a week.

[MarkB]

The author seems to confuse the issue of Jamaica Plain. Jamaica Plain was historically part of Roxbury, but it seceded as the town of West Roxbury in 1851. At that time, the two became different legal entities. It is difficult for me to square that fact with the claim that Jamaica Plain "will always be a part of Roxbury". To follow that logic, the thirteen colonies "will always be a part of England".