The Phillips School was a 19th-century school located in Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts. It is now a private residence. It is on the

Black Heritage Trail The Boston African American National Historic Site, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts's Beacon Hill neighborhood, interprets 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th-century African-American community, connected ...

and its history is included in walking tours by the

Boston African American National Historic Site The Boston African American National Historic Site, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts's Beacon Hill neighborhood, interprets 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th-century African-American community, connected ...

. Built in 1824, it was a school for white children. After Massachusetts law from 1855 required school desegregation, Phillips was one of the first integrated schools in Boston.

History

English High School

The school was first the English High School, built between 1823 and 1825. Its architecture is typical of other 19th century schools in Boston.

Phillips Grammar School

In 1844 it was converted to a grammar school and was named the Phillips Grammar School after John Phillips, the first mayor of Boston and father of

Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...

, a noted

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. The school educated nearby children, predominantly from wealthy families. In contrast to the

Abiel Smith School Abiel Smith School, founded in 1835, is a school located at 46 Joy Street in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, adjacent to the African Meeting House. It is named for Abiel Smith, a white philanthropist who left money (an estimated $4,000) in hi ...

, which was the public school for African American children from 1835 to 1855, the Phillips School was considered one of the best schools in the city. Black Bostonians fought tirelessly for equal educational opportunities throughout the 19th century. Benjamin tried unsuccessfully in 1847 to have his daughter enrolled in a white school near his home, and then at Phillips School. When Boston schools were finally integrated in 1855, by an act of the Massachusetts legislature, the Phillips School became one of the first integrated schools in Boston.

Wendell Phillips School

In 1863 the Phillips School moved to a new building on Phillips Street (formerly Southac Street). It was renamed the Wendall Phillips School for the abolitionists

, son of the original namesake, John Phillips. In the early 1870s, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of abolitionist

John J. Smith John James Smith (1820 – 1906) was a barber shop owner, abolitionist, a three-term Massachusetts state representative, and one of the first African-American members of the Boston Common Council. A Republican, he served three terms in the Mas ...

, started teaching at the Phillips School and was probably the first African American to teach in an integrated Boston public school.

Black Heritage Trail

The house is a Boston African American historical site located on the

in Beacon Hill. The National Park Service wrote:

The historic buildings along today's
Black Heritage Trail The Boston African American National Historic Site, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts's Beacon Hill neighborhood, interprets 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th-century African-American community, connected ...
^® were the homes, businesses, schools and churches of a thriving black community that organized, from the nation's earliest years, to sustain those who faced local discrimination and national slavery, struggling toward the equality and freedom promised in America's documents of national liberty.

Gallery

File:EHS bldg Pickney anderson 1824.jpg, Engraving of the second home of The English High School, 1824. The first building in North America built specifically for a high school. Later renamed Phillips School. ''Semi-Centennial History of The English High School.'' Boston. May 2, 1871. File:PhillipsSchool PinckneySt Boston HomansSketches1851.jpg, Phillips School, Homans, ''Sketches of Boston, Past and Present.'' 1851.

Notes

References

External links

Phillips School
{{Boston African American community pre-Civil War, state=expanded African-American history in Boston History of Boston Schools in Boston Beacon Hill, Boston