In 1899, the All Souls Unitarian Church published this “magazine” about Roxbury. While it’s similar to a modern magazine in terms of style, layout, and the length of the articles, it doesn’t appear that this was a recurring periodical. There is only this one issue that I can find.
For those looking for a quick summary of the history of Roxbury, this is probably the best place to start. The contributors were a who’s who of Roxbury society at the time, with articles by Edwin Upton Curtis, Edward Everett Hale, Reverend Lyon, and many other municipal leaders. The issue is packed with pictures of local attractions, including a number of historic houses and plenty of pictures of Franklin Park, then a relatively new park that was the pride of Roxbury.
But the real prize in this volume is the compilation of stories about Roxbury. There’s a wonderful history of the First Church and John Eliot, a series of short biographical blurbs about all of the famous men of Roxbury to date, Rev. Hale’s description of Roxbury in 1775, lists of institutions and landmarks, and more. Clocking in at just 50 pages, this is probably the best introduction to the history of Roxbury you could ask for. It covers a great deal more than Fort Hill, including a history of the utopian Brook Farm. Available free online through Google Books, but worth buying as a reprint from Amazon or the Harvard Coop.
