The Eliot School dates back to 1689 when the Rev. John Eliot “the Apostle to the Indians” donated 78 acres for the first school in this area of Roxbury. In his bequest he specified that the school admit children of all races including black, white, and native american children. The school building was originally at the corner of South and Centre St about where the Monument now stands.
The present building, built in 1822, still serves as a school making it one of the oldest, continuously running, educational institutions in the United States. Today it is the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts. They offer classes in: woodworking, painting, stained glass, upholstery, mosaic, knitting, sewing and other arts for people of all ages.