Place: Baker Chocolate
Address: 1231 Adams Street
Neighborhood: Dorchester
I have visited the Lower Mills part of Dorchester many times in the past -- and it is a very nice area indeed. Lower Mills is also the former home of the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory. The main structures have been turned into apartments.
To visit Baker Chocolate, ride the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Trolley to Milton. Then walk up Adams Street. Bus routes 27, 217 and 240 can also get you there.
"In 1765, itinerant Irish chocolatier John Hannon established a chocolate mill-the nation's first-at Lower Mills. His partner, James Baker, took over the business in 1780 and named it Baker Chocolate. Baker remained a major Dorchester industry until 1965 when production moved to Delaware. Many buildings from the Baker complex remain, including this Georgian Revival structure. Baker Chocolate developed one of the earliest U.S. trademarks, "La Belle Chocolatiere." She is still featured on Baker packaging today."
To learn more about Baker Chocolate:
http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=67
http://www.dorchesteratheneum.org/page.php?id=553
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker's_Chocolate_%28brand%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Baker_%26_Company
