Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA*
1854 - Roxbury

Roxbury, a beautiful city of Norfolk county, Massachusetts, 8 miles S. from Boston, with which it is connected by what is termed "Boston Neck." Leading over this neck are three broad avenues, which are traversed by numerous lines of stages plying between the two cities. Much of the site now occupied by Roxbury was originally rocky and very irregular, but of late has been greatly improved. Portions of it are quite elevated, affording fine views of Boston and the surrounding scenery. It would perhaps be difficult to find concentrated in any city of equal extent such a diversity of surface, or so many elements of the picturesque. The private edifices, all of which are neat, and some very elegant, are, for the most part, enclosed by spacious grounds adorned with flower gardens and a profusion of shrubbery ; indeed, few places have been more improved by the horticulturist. For several years past the city has been very flourishing, owing in part to its having become a favorite place of residence to persons doing business in Boston. Its wealth and interests are closely connected with that city, and it might with propriety, perhaps, be regarded as a suburb of the metropolis. It has, however, considerable trade of its own, and is also extensively engaged in manufacturing. The most important articles produced are steam engines, steam boilers, fire engines, iron castings, chemical preparations, carpetings, various kinds of fringe, tassels, cordage, leather, &o. It has 2 banks, with a circulation of $160,000, and 20,000 of specie; a savings' institution, and 2 insurance companies. Three newspapers are published here. A beautiful burial place, called the Forest Hills Cemetery, has recently been laid out on the Dedham turnpike, a short distance back of the city. It comprises an area of about 70 acres, diversified with nearly every variety of surface, and variously adorned with winding path ways, plants, shrubbery, &c. The entrance to the grounds is by a fine Egyptian gateway. Boston and Roxbury were both incorporated the same year, 1630. The latter was chartered as a city in 1846. Population in 1790, 2226; 1810,3669; 1830,6247; 1840,9089; 1850, 18,273, and in 1853, about 22,000.

A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

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