The Neponset Indians, a part of the larger Massachusett tribe,[4] spent their summers in Savin Hill for centuries before the arrival of Europeans.

They had formerly settled further south on the coast, in the Hull area, before moving north to a hill overlooking a protected harbor, now called Dorchester Bay.

They landed in boats and built a settlement for approximately 140 people near what is today the intersection of Grampian Way and Savin Hill Avenue.

After the American Civil War, the Worthington family, who owned most of the land in present-day Savin Hill, started selling house lots.

Savin Hill Station became part of Boston's rapid transit network in 1927, now operated as the MBTA Red Line.

Its relative isolation, solid and often historically significant housing stock, and proximity to downtown Boston have helped make Savin Hill one of the areas of Dorchester which has undergone the most gentrification in recent years.