Phillips School
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 and its history is included in walking tours by the Boston African American National Historic Site.
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In this article
Overview
Overview
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.
Key facts
Key facts
• Location — Beacon Hill • Address — Private Residence: Pinckney and Anderson • Location Town — Boston • Location Country — United States
Black Heritage Trail
Black Heritage Trail
The house is a Boston African American historical site located on the Black Heritage Trail in Beacon Hill.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — 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. • Illustration — Phillips School, Homans, Sketches of Boston, Past and Present. 1851.
English High School
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
Phillips Grammar School
• Illustration — Portrait of Phillips, from Boston Monthly Magazine, 1825 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, a noted abolitionist. The school educated nearby children, predominantly from wealthy families. In contrast to the Abiel Smith School, 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
Wendell Phillips School
In 1863,The Museum of African History states that the school was moved in 1861. the Phillips School moved to a new building on Phillips Street (formerly Southac Street). It was renamed the Wendall Phillips School for the abolitionists Wendell Phillips, son of the original namesake, John Phillips. In the early 1870s, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of abolitionist John J. Smith, started teaching at the Phillips School and was probably the first African American to teach in an integrated Boston public school. The school was closed in 1940 and the building was converted into a technical school. The building was sold for housing in 1977.
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Studied at
1- Karl GerhardtArtist
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Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Phillips School, revision 1364616666 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Park Service. Phillips School.
- 2.Museum of African American History. The Phillips School.
- 3.Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Boston's West End. Arcadia Publishing. 58. 1998. 978-0-7385-6285-8.
- 4.National Park Service. Boston African American NHS Park Brochure, Side 2.
- 5.Globe Pequot. Guide to the National Park Areas, Eastern States. 110–112. 1997.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 26 September 2026.
Elsewhere in General
22,760 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Philips High SchoolOrganisation
- Phillip Institute of TechnologyOrganisation
- Phillips AcademyOrganisation
- Phillips Exeter AcademyOrganisation
- PhillipsburgPlace
- PhilmontPlace
- PhiloPlace
- PhimaiPlace
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