Savin Hill
Puritans originally settled the area in the 1600's and was originally known as Rock Hill. Around the late 1700's, the name had changed to Old Hill. By the time Dorchester was incorporated into Boston, it was called Savin Hill, named after the red juniper (Savin) trees that grew in the area. You'll see a lot of Victorian homes in this area that were constructed after the American Civil War. Transportation to the area arrived in teh 1800's, in particular the Old Colony Railroad. Today a chunk of the Old Colony Railroad Bridge lies in Rolling Bridge Park in South Boston. The sub-neighborhood Fox Point is the point of land at the eastern end of Savin Hill. Patten's Cove is also at Savin Hill where the Boston Globe is now. The original Savin Hill Yacht Club was moved from there across the Boulevard to where it is now. There was a famous controversy when the Globe moved onto the tidelands marsh.
The neighborhood as a whole now runs as far inland as a block or two west of Dorchester Avenue, and north-south from Columbia Road to Hancock Street. Savin Hill is also the name of a song released in 2003 by the punk rock group Street Dogs who trace their roots to this Boston neighbourhood. The nostalgic song is loud, blaring noise which starts with a train arriving at Savin Hill station.
