Woodbourne is an enclave in the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain. It sits between Hyde Park Ave and Forest Hills Cemetery. There are a series of hilly little streets that wind throughout it. Woodbourne consists of about 30 acres and it is a National Historic District. The tour begins with some public buildings and then we will head off to see some early 20th century housing. As we move through the area we will search for clues to the 18th and 19th century uses of this land. The Woodbourne area was originally owned by Ebenezer Weld. Weld was a large landowner in Jamaica Plain and a gentleman farmer. The Welds had been landowners since the original land grants for Roxbury were done in 1630. They got even more land as a reward for Joseph Weld’s service in the Pequot War in the 1640s.
Some of the land making up Woodbourne was Clark’s Dairy Farm in the early 1800s. Later, much of the area moved into the hands of the Minot family who had their country estate here. In 1889, the population of the Forest Hills section of Jamaica Plain was just 1000 people. In 1909, the Boston Elevated Railroad extended their line out to Forest Hills (from Egleston Square) and this expansion opened the area up to be developed and further subdivided. The Boston Dwelling House Company purchased 30 acres in 1910 and they planned to build 150 houses on their land. We’ll talk more about the BDHC and their plans as we get back into the neighborhood.