Place

Site of John R. Taylor’s “Temperance House”

Entrance to a brick building with a black door to the left and windows on the right.
John Taylor operated this house at 40 Phillips Street (formerly Southac Street).

NPS Photo/Pollock

Quick Facts
Location:
40 Phillips Street (formerly Southac Street)
Significance:
Boarding House for freedom seekers
OPEN TO PUBLIC:
No
MANAGED BY:
Private Residence

John R. Taylor, a mariner, operated several boarding houses through the years in this neighborhood. In 1846 and 1847, he ran the “Temperance House” at 40 Southac (now Phillips) Street. Here he boarded the fugitives John H. Lomax, Henry H. Garnet, Joseph Johnson, and Thomas Miller. Taylor later opened another boarding house at 81 Southac Street where he also harbored freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad.1

Footnotes

  1. Kathryn Grover and Janine V. Da Silva, "Historic Resource Study: Boston African American National Historic Site," Boston African American National Historic Site, (2002), 101.

Boston African American National Historic Site

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Last updated: January 22, 2024