Fast Facts | Roslindalehighschool

Roslindale Fast Facts...

At the location of the Roslindale Community Center, 6 Cummins Highway, at the corner of Cummins and Washington Street, once stood a car barn and then the Roslindale Police Station.
The Charles Sumner School was originally located where the post office now stands.
The first church in Roslindale was built at the corner of Florence and Hawthorne Streets. Prior to that the one-room schoolhouse on Poplar Street was used as a church, and was large enough for services, meetings and socials. It was later rehabilitated as a house. Mr. Lovejoy, janitor of the Charles Sumner School was the new occupant.
The Florence Street Grammar School was situated at the corner of Florence and Hawthorne Streets.

In 1863, the first school building in the neighborhood was opened. It was simply named the Poplar Street School and was situated at 138 Poplar Street according to an old map. There were less than 20 children in attendance that year. The first teacher was Miss Alma Richards.
In 1863, only eight men from Roslindale worked in Boston on a regular basis.
In 1863, the trains going through Roslindale did not stop on a schedule. One had to signal the driver to stop. At night, one of the common ways was to hold a lighted newspaper to get the attention of the driver.
On January 24, 1722, Benjamin Child was the first person to be buried in the Walter Street Burial Ground at Peter's Hill.
Walter Street was named after the Reverend Nathaniel Walter, who founded the first church at Peter's Hill.

Roslindale, West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Roxbury existed as one community and the Town was named "Rocksbury."
"Roxbury" was founded three weeks after the official settlement date of the town of Boston.The settlement date of "Rocksbury" was September 18, 1630.
Father Cummins, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, was a fierce opponent of the making and use of alcohol during the time of Prohibition, but there were many Home Brewers and Speakeasy's in the neighborhood.
Turtle Pond, near the intersection of Washington Street and the West Roxbury was once called Muddy Pond. It was from the surrounding woods and Bellevue Hill that the Stony River began, which ran through Roslindale and Jamaica Plain until it was forced underground.
Sacred Heart Church was the first Catholic Church in the Southwestern part of Boston.
Did you know there was a Fire Works company on Hyde Park Avenue in the vicinity of Cummins Highway and Canterbury Street. The factory closed due to a fire in the building and never reopened
Residents of Metropolitan Hill participated in a "Horribles Parade" to celebrate the Fourth of July in 1917.
Father Cummins, the first pastor of Sacred Heart Church, held huge barbecues at Healy Field to raise money to build the church at it's current location - Cummins Highway and Brown Avenue. The barbecues attracted people from all over to enjoy roasted ox.
A large fireworks display was shown on Fallon Field to celebrate the Fourth of July.