Name links Rozzie to conspiracies, clones

Roslindale is named for a Scottish village that has since become famous for conspiracy theories and cloning experiments.

Rozzie took its name from Roslin (earlier known as Roslyn or Rosslyn), Scotland, according to the book “Roslindale: Then & Now” by Anthony Mitchell Sammarco.

Roslin is famous today for Rosslyn Chapel, an elaborately decorated church that has long been the focus of conspiracy theories who claim to see secret messages encoded in its structure. The church was featured in Dan Brown’s hit novel and movie “The Da Vinci Code.”

And the nearby Roslin Institute was the birthplace of Dolly, a sheep born in 1996 from a groundbreaking cloning experiment that drew worldwide attention.

Roslindale has its namesake beaten on size. The Scottish village is home to fewer than 2,000 people, according to its website (roslinvillage.com). Rozzie is about 16 times bigger.

According to Sammarco’s book, Rozzie was originally known casually as South Street Crossing. But when a post office branch was established around 1870, residents gathered to establish a more formal name.

John Pierce, a native Englishman, suggested naming it for Roslin, saying the rolling hills here looked similar to those in Scotland. And he suggested tacking on “dale,” which means “valley.” Pierce reportedly mentioned Rosslyn Chapel as well as part of his pitch.

Pierce was a wealth landowner. Part of his estate is now Fallon Field.

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