(calm music)
Narrator: In the decades preceding
the American Civil War, the whaling port of New Bedford,
Massachusetts became a significant stop
on The Underground Railroad, the network of safe havens
used by fugitive slaves escaping the south.
New Bedford became an important destination
for many escaped slaves because of its active port,
wide availability of work, and its comparatively large
population of people of color.
An area now dubbed Abolition Row,
was home to a large concentration of active abolitionists.
This is the story of 21 Seventh Street,
owned by Nathan and Mary Johnson.
Nathan and Mary, who went by the name Polly,
were well known for their work in the anti-slavery movement.
They were free people, a middle class
African American family who owned
four properties in the area.
-: My name is Lee Blake, I am the president
of the New Bedford Historical Society.
So this house, the Nathan and Polly Johnson house,
is unique, it is an Underground Railroad sight.
It is also the first free home
of Frederick Douglass and Anna Douglass.
But it's also unique because this was a home
that African Americans owned, African Americans
who were involved in The Underground Railroad.
As opposed to, when people come in and I do tours
they're always surprised to realize
that African Americans owned this home.
Narrator: Nathan and Polly were business partners
who operated a catering business out of their home.
Polly was best known as a candymaker and baker.
Her confectionary shop at 23 Seventh Street
sold free labor candy made from ingredients
farmed by free workers.
Her famous ginger cookies and molded ice cream
were enjoyed by New Bedford's wealthiest families.
-: In 1838 Nathan and Polly Johnson
welcomed the young Frederick Douglass
and his Wife, Anna Murray, into this home.
And it was in this very house that Frederick
got his last name Douglass, thanks to a suggestion
made to him by Mr. Johnson.
It was in this city that Frederick and Anna got their start.
Their family grew and Frederick became
the well-noted abolitionist and public speaker
that we know today.
Narrator: In 1849, after years of economic downturn,
Nathan left Massachusetts for the California gold rush,
hoping to improve his fortune.
Before he left, Nathan gave Polly ownership
of their four properties, which would have been valued at
more than half a million dollars in today's money.
In his absence, Polly with her strong work ethic
and business sense, continued the confectionery
and paid off their home's loan.
In 1857, Polly sought and won
the city's permission to expand her home.
The original four room federal style home
was lifted off its foundation, rotated 90 degrees,
and moved to the rear of the lot.
Polly continued to live there
while the construction began on the front.
The new addition, in Greek revival style,
was trimmed with a gable roof, arched window frames,
broken pediment, and corner pilasters.
After 20 years away, and two years after Polly's death,
Nathan Johnson returned from the west
with little or nothing to show for his expedition.
Polly left the house to her granddaughter, Mary Buchanan.
And Nathan lived in the home until his death,
seven years later.
The property remained in the Johnson family
until 1891, when it and all its contents were sold.
The proceeds were used to set up an MIT University
scholarship fund to benefit young men of color.
In the 1970s a two story shed roof extension
was added to the home,
which housed bathrooms, and a stairway.
In the year 2000 the Johnson house
was designated a National Historic Landmark.
One of only a few selected properties
in New Bedford to receive that title.
With this new designation plans were drafted
to restore the property to its 1850s elegance.
This photograph from the late 1800s,
taken to document a fallen tree,
was used as the basis for the restoration.
In 2006, the entire home was restored
from top to bottom, painted white,
and exterior accents were added.
The first floor rooms were decorated with period furniture
and artwork that recreated the way the home
may have looked in Nathan and Polly's time.
The Nathan and Polly Johnson house,
a significant part of new Bedford's
abolitionist history and a historic symbol
of the city's thriving free black community
and entrepreneurial spirit.