{"nrhp_refnum":"00000260","name":"Johnson, Nathan and Mary (Polly), Properties","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"17-19, and 21 Seventh Street","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bedford","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.633088604500045,"lon":-70.9286289597136,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-02-16","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2000-02-16","areas_of_significance":["Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two adjoining buildings at 17-19 and 21 Seventh Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts: a former Friends meetinghouse (built 1785, moved c. 1821-23 and later converted to a dwelling) and the Greek Revival-era home of Nathan and Mary (Polly) Johnson.","why_significant":"The properties are nationally significant for their link to Frederick Douglass, who found his first home at 21 Seventh Street after escaping slavery in 1838. Nathan Johnson, a Black abolitionist, influenced Douglass and aided fugitive slaves. 21 Seventh Street is the only one of Douglass's three New Bedford residences still standing.","narrative":"Two adjoining buildings on Seventh Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts, are tied to the antebellum struggle against slavery. Number 17-19 is a Federal-style frame building, constructed in 1785 as a Friends meetinghouse and moved to its present corner in the early 1820s. By 1832 Nathan Johnson had it converted into a dwelling. Number 21 was the home of Nathan and Mary (Polly) Johnson, African-American abolitionists who also ran a candy and catering business. It combines a c. 1800 rear ell with a front section added in 1857. The house gave Frederick Douglass his first refuge after he escaped slavery in 1838, and it is the only one of his three New Bedford residences that survives. Documentation shows it sheltered at least one other fugitive, and 17-19 may have done so as well. A crawl space in the attic of 17-19 is legendarily associated with hiding fugitives. Both buildings now hold apartments.","period_of_significance":"1824-63","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"17-19: Federal; 21: Federal adjoining Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B"],"status_note":"Both buildings are currently used as multiple dwellings; 17-19 is in excellent condition and 21 is in fair to good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.492673-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7936/63793661/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/00000260_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000260/cc36b2a7f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00000260/cc36b2a7f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnson_Properties,_New_Bedford,_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnson_Properties,_New_Bedford,_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"76000229","name":"County Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/county-street-historic-district-76000229/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793661","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_and_Mary_(Polly)_Johnson_properties","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715749"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/johnson-nathan-and-mary-polly-properties-00000260/"}