The Fenway Victory Gardens are the only remaining continuously-operating World War II Victory Gardens in the United States. Founded in 1942 during the Roosevelt Administration, they were one of more than 20 million Victory Gardens in the U.S. Victory Gardens were encouraged under the Roosevelt Administration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The City of Boston, like many cities and towns across the U.S., participated and created the Boston Victory Garden Committee to identify parcels in the City of Boston. The Fenway Victory Gardens were one of 49 parcels identified by the Committee. Nationwide, all Victory Gardens were together responsible for nearly half of all the vegetables produced during the war.
Located within Frederick Law Olmsted’s famed Emerald Necklace, the Fenway Victory Gardens hold more than 500 gardens for City of Boston residents. Spanning 7.5 acres along Boston’s Muddy River, the gardens are tended by a community of more than 375 members from every neighborhood in Boston, reflecting the diversity of our city and its rich history and culture.