Bussey Street Being Renamed Flora Way After Former Slave

By David Ertischek on October 14, 2024

Starting October 25, Bussey Street will henceforth be known as Flora Way, after the Boston Public Improvement Commission approved the change.

The street, which bisects the Arnold Arboretum between Walter and South streets, is being renamed after a Black woman who was enslaved in the area during the 18th century.

Flora was chosen after a two-year campaign by local Jamaica Plain and Roslindale leaders and organizations to rename the street. Five names were suggested and a public vote chose Flora. Comments were also made that the new street name should not get lost in the association of flora i.e. plant life, especially considering it bisects the Arboretum.

The community supported the idea to no longer have the street named after Benjamin Bussey, who in 2022 was identified by a Harvard University report on the school’s legacy of slavery, as one of the five largest donors in the antebellum period connected to the slavery economy. While Bussey did profit from slavery, he was also a philanthropist who gifted much of the land that became the Arnold Arboretum three decades after his death. With that in mind, his name will remain on other local spots like Bussey Hill, Bussey Brook, and Bussy Brook Meadow.

The renaming of the street was supported by the Arnold Arboretum and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

The street will get its new name on October 25, and there will be a dedication event at 2 pm on October 26 at the Arboretum inside the Walter Street Gate, weather permitting.

This article was originally published by Jamaica Plain News.