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Dorchester: Immigration History Hub - Neighborhood Walking Tour

  • Dorchester North Burying Ground 585 Columbia Road Dorchester, MA, 02125 United States (map)

Immigration and diversity have been a driving force throughout Boston’s history - and nowhere more so than in Dorchester.

In 1633 the first English immigrants arrived in Dorchester. Today, the geographically largest neighborhood in Boston is also one of the city's most diverse - with a tapestry of cultures including Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, Dominican, and African-American people. This walking tour explores the Upham's Corner and Jones Hill neighborhoods of North Dorchester through the eyes of its changing immigrant populations. Did you know Dorchester was home to a Protestant-turned-Catholic progressive political cartoonist? Later, early Civil Rights activist and newspaper editor William Monroe Trotter took up residence here. And in the 1970s, the neighborhood became a haven for Vietnamese and Cape Verdean immigrants, who have expanded the area's culinary scene in the decades since.

This 1.5 mile, mostly flat walking tour will begin and end at the gates of Dorchester North Burial Ground (585 Columbia Rd). The tour will last 90 minutes. Please wear comfortable footwear and bring water.

Register at Eventbrite here. Advance registration required. Tickets are $17 for the general public and free for Shirley-Eustis House members. Discounted tickets available on request for EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare recipients. If you have a voucher for free tour admission, please email us at programs@shirleyeustishouse.org.

The closest MBTA connections are the red line stop at JFK/UMass or the 8, 16, 17, or 41 bus lines.

Questions? Email programs@shirleyeustishouse.org or call (617)-442-2275.