Roxbury Heritage State Park

November 23, 2019 Sunny/Cold

Roxbury Heritage State Park is located a few minutes away from a section of the Southwest Corridor Park, which we visited on the same day. This park was a convenient detour. The main grounds consist the Dillaway-Thomas House, which was recently renovated.

There are two floors to the house. On the first floor, one room is decorated in the colonial style of the 1700s. There were period furniture, toys, and models of colonial era food such as Roxbury Russet apples.

Roxbury Russet apples, the oldest apples cultivated in the United States

The house is situated on top of a hill, with clear views to the Boston Harbor. This location was very strategic during the Revolutionary War. Here, the park ranger was explaining how the house was used as an American headquarter during the War and Siege of Boston.

Here is a period desk with quill and parchment. Miles is Mrs. Thomas writing to her husband Commander John Thomas during the War.

The next room was decorated in the 19th century style. There were different artifacts from the Industrial Revolution, such as this original Edison Phonograph.

We got a demonstration of how this worked. The kids had to crank up the phonograph to start the action. This room also contained some exhibits from prominent Roxbury residents during that time, including a small display case dedicated to Malcolm X.

The upstairs rooms were mostly for community meetings and had exhibits about Roxbury during the Civil Rights movement and the present day. We were in a hurry so didn’t linger.

The house is in good shape and the exhibits are brand new. The park ranger was extremely friendly.

This site is recently renovated and well done, with a few hands-on exhibits that kids will enjoy.
This place has a variety of things to keep kids interested in history.
This building was top-notch, but I expect it doesn’t get too many visitors. What a shame nobody wants to visit Roxbury.
I liked the record player so much!
The tree in front of it, there was only one.