By Madyline Swearing
Lisa Murphy’s house on Moultrie Street sits on land once cultivated by descendants of Dorchester’s first English settlers. Though she has lived there since 1998, Murphy didn’t learn this until 2023, when she asked the Dorchester Historical Society (DHS) for help.
The society’s House History Research program provides Dorchester and Mattapan residents with comprehensive reports of their home’s histories. Some accounts date back to the colonial and federalist era, but more often they include details about the architect, builder and owners in much later times.
Since 2020, nearly 600 house histories have been recorded.
Run entirely by volunteers, the society collects, preserves and circulates historical facts about Dorchester. The House History team, which includes Earl Taylor, Marti Glynn, Vicki Rugo, Kayla Skillin, and Kit Binns, was formally recognized on Oct. 21, with a Stewardship Award at the Boston Preservation Alliance’s 37th Annual Preservation Achievement presentation at Artists for Humanity in South Boston.
The citation recognizes a preservation initiative without a definite end.
“This really stands out, because unless you share the history of all, you only learn the history of some,” said the non-profit alliance’s deputy director, Matthew Dickey. “It just shows how much of a melting pot Dorchester is and continues to be, and it’s really cool to be rooted in the history that surrounds you.”
Winners are selected based on the project’s quality of execution, creativity, innovation, and public impact, among other factors. Past awardees have included WGBH’s “The Big Dig” podcast, Joseph Bagley’s book “Boston’s Oldest Buildings and Where to Find Them,” and The History Project’s “Stonewall 50” walking tour.
Dickey says he encourages a variety of projects to apply, including those from the Dorchester Historical Society, where he sits on the board of directors — though he says he is not part of the awards selection committee or process.
“We’ve learned a lot just about Dorchester’s history in general, and we’ve shared what we can,” said Earl Taylor, the historical society’s president. “To be recognized for that effort … it’s just great.”
Lisa Murphy had been searching in the Boston Public Library’s archives for the architectural plans of her house. For a $75 fee, the historical society analyzed tax records, building permits, marriage records, and census data to produce a 20-page report, dating back to the home’s construction in 1898.
“We were very curious,” Murphy said. “This part of town has so much interesting history.”
A plaque near the front door signifies it meets the historical society’s criteria for a “historic” home. The off-white oval marker includes the year of construction and the builder’s name, John N. Chute, in black lettering. Homeowners must apply separately for the house marker.
Blocks away, Edward Cook has a similar plaque that lists a construction year of 1897 and architect John A. Block. Cook, a former board member of the society, was an “early adopter” of the house histories project in 2020. He says that while there wasn’t anything particularly captivating about his home’s history, it was nice to have the information.
“It gives a sense of inclusion in the neighborhood, of rootedness and continuity in the house,” Cook said. “[Volunteers] have spent hours of their time and become incredible researchers, even though this wasn’t in their backgrounds. It’s an amazing resource for the community.”
The awards ceremony is the Preservation Alliance’s largest fundraising event of the year, Dickey said, though what defines the event is its film project. Dickey interviewed 45 people among this year’s winners to create short films about each project, the people who completed it, and its associated history. For those who can’t attend in person, Dickey says the films will be available online by mid-November.
Other honorees include the Twelfth Baptist Church, the Curley Community Center, The Pryde independent living apartments, Harvard Medical School’s Francis Countway Library of Medicine, renovations to City Hall, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground’s gravestone conservation.
“We’re from all walks of life, but what ties us together is the curiosity to look at a topic and try to figure out all the aspects of it,” Taylor said. “Most houses may not have extraordinary events or people connected to them, but they are part of history, and they tell the story of what people were doing at any particular time.”
For more information on the DHS House History program, go here.
This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
This article was originally published on October 23, 2025.