Happy 100th Anniversary, Hyde Park!

An early Celebration of the Anniversary of Hyde Park in the collection of the Hyde Park Historical Society 

The decades seem to have flown by, but 2012 marks the 100^th anniversary the Hyde Park neighborhood becoming a part of the city of Boston. Hyde Park was actually incorporated as an independent town in 1868, formed from land ceded by Dorchester, Milton, and Dedham.

Interestingly, Hyde Park’s incorporation as a new town was contrary to the larger trend in the late 1860s and early 1870s, when other towns surrounding Boston, such as Roxbury and  Dorchester, were making the decision to allow themselves to be annexed to the city. The original Hyde Parkers were an independent-minded bunch, though—just like the current residents!—and had grand plans for their new town, which they named after the tony Hyde Park section of London. In 1912, Hyde Park became the last of the adjacent towns to join Boston. 

As a recent story on Boston.com describes, there has been a lot of local celebrating, including a wonderful event sponsored by the Hyde Park Historical Society and the Hyde Park Branch Library.

So, happy anniversary, Hyde Park, and here’s to the next 100 years!

Cleary and Logan Squares in Hyde Park form one of Historic Boston’s two Historic Neighborhood Centers program districts. For more information on our projects and other preservation work in Hyde Park, go to:   http://www.historicboston.org/info/centers/clearylogan/index.html