History: First Church in Roxbury
First Meetinghouse: 1632-1674

English settlers began arriving in the area, originally named Roxborough, in 1630. The first congregation gathered in 1631 and by 1632 settlers completed their first meetinghouse: a small, simple building with a thatched roof.

Roxbury’s famous minister, Rev. John Eliot, arrived in Boston in 1631 and began serving at the First Church in Roxbury in 1632. John Eliot became known as the “Apostle to the Indians” for preaching to Native Americans, training them to be ministers in their communities, and translating the Bible into the Algonquin language. Eliot also fought against selling Native Americans into slavery, and was instrumental in establishing free education for residents of Roxbury and other nearby towns.