The William C. Nell House, now a private residence, was a boarding home located in 3 Smith Court in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts, opposite the former

African Meeting House The African Meeting House, also known variously as First African Baptist Church, First Independent Baptist Church and the Belknap Street Church, was built in 1806 and is now the oldest black church edifice still standing in the United States. It ...

, now the Museum of African American History. It is one of the Smith Court residences on the Black Heritage Trail of 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 ...

walking tours. The homes on Smith Court typify the types of homes built in the before 1803 and of many of the African Americans who lived in the city at that time. Other Smith Court residences on the tour include 5, 7, 7A, 4 and 2 Smith Court; They are private residences and are not open to the public.

Architecture

3 Smith Court was built between 1798 and 1800 by two white bricklayers and is now known as the James Scott and William C. Nell House. The narrow building consists of painted clapboarding on the front; the back of the house is a windowless brick wall. This type of construction was typical for Boston before 1803 and especially for residences on alleys.

Residents

Starting in 1830, 3 Smith Court was rented to numerous African American men and their families.

James Scott

James Scott, the longest resident of 3 Smith Court, lived there for nearly 50 years. He was a tenant from 1839 to 1865 and owned the property from 1865 until his death in 1888. Scott was born in Virginia and worked as a clothing dealer in Boston. James Scott's Underground Railroad activity is documented in the records of the

Boston Vigilance Committee The Boston Vigilance Committee (1841–1861) was an abolitionist organization formed in Boston, Massachusetts, to protect escaped slaves from being kidnapped and returned to slavery in the South. The Committee aided hundreds of escapees, most o ...

. In 1851, Scott was arrested in his shop and charged with spearheading the rescue of

Shadrach Minkins Shadrach Minkins (c. 1814 – December 13, 1875) was an African-American fugitive slave from Virginia who escaped in 1850 and reached Boston. He also used the pseudonyms Frederick Wilkins and Frederick Jenkins.Collison (1998), p. 1. He is known fo ...

from federal custody. Like John Coburn, whose home is also on the walking tour, Scott was arrested, tried, and acquitted for the 1851 rescue of Shadrach Minkins. It is not clear whether he participated in this rescue (he was acquitted for lack of evidence), but Scott did assist other fugitive slaves. For example, on July 18, 1856, James Scott boarded self-emancipated slave Henry Jackson and his family at 3 Smith Court.

William Cooper Nell

Abolitionist

William Cooper Nell William Cooper Nell (December 16, 1816 – May 25, 1874) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, publisher, author, and civil servant of Boston, Massachusetts, who worked for the integration of schools and public facilities in the st ...

was also a tenant from 1850 to 1857. Nell was one of Boston's most forceful advocates for school integration in 1855. He was the author of several histories, including ''Colored Patriots of the American Revolution'', and he worked at various times for the ''Liberator'', the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, and the Frederick Douglass’ Paper. He was also very active in the Boston Vigilance Committee and he sheltered or aided numerous self-emancipated slaves at 3 Smith Court. He is considered the nation's first published black historian. In recognition of his contributions, the house was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

Smith Court residences

As early as the 1790s, African Americans began to reside on the north slope of Beacon Hill. The area of lower Joy Street and Smith Court was an important center of Boston's 19th black community. Today, the historic homes on Smith Court, along with the

and 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 ...

, are the best preserved physical locales available for understanding the history of African Americans in Boston. 4 Smith Court, a four-story brick building, is typical of residential structures built in Boston between 1885 and 1915. In the 1880s, Boston experienced an influx of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Many of the newly arrived lived in densely populated areas of Boston, including the north slope of Beacon Hill, the West End, and the North End. They moved primarily into areas that had been partially black neighborhoods, just as African Americans were relocating to Roxbury, Dorchester, and the South End.

Gallery

File:BostonMA NellHouse.jpg, William Cooper Nell House, 2012

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1851 Houses in Boston Beacon Hill, Boston National Historic Landmarks in Boston African-American history in Boston 1851 establishments in Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Boston