William Lloyd Garrison House Study Report

The William Lloyd Garrison House, 17 Highland Park Street, Roxbury (Boston), was built ca. 1855 as a single-family home for Boston druggist Joseph W. Hunnewell. The house is highly significant for its association with its second occupant, the prominent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, who lived in the house from 1864 until his death in 1879. Garrison occupied the house on Highland Street during the final years of the Civil War, during which he established the moral element of the conflict and demanded immediate abolition. Garrison witnessed the ratification of the 13^th Amendment and ceased production of The Liberator in 1865 while at Rockledge. Throughout his later years, Garrison continued advocating social reform through campaigns for prohibition, women’s rights, and justice for Native Americans. The property, affectionately named “Rockledge,” remained in the ownership of the Garrison family until 1900.

 The property is additionally significant for its association with the Rock Ledge Improvement Association, a group of prominent members of Greater Boston’s African American community who acquired and maintained the Garrison House from 1900 to 1904 in honor of the late abolitionist. In 1904 it was sold to the Episcopal Sisters of the Society of Saint Margaret, who used the Garrison House for St. Monica’s Home, a hospital for chronically ill black women and children. The building was later used by the religious order as a nursing facility for elderly women before being used as a convent. The Society of St. Margaret sold the property to Emmanuel College in 2012. The entire complex, including the Garrison House, was renamed Emmanuel College’s Notre Dame Campus and opened at the start of the 2014-2015 academic year as a residence and a center for programs related to the mission of the Society of St. Margaret: retreats, reflection and prayer, spiritual direction, social justice and service learning.

The William Lloyd Garrison House is a surprisingly well-preserved, modest frame house with both Greek Revival and Italianate style details. These two styles were dominant in American domestic architecture between 1830 and 1850, and 1840 and 1885, respectively.

Read the William Lloyd Garrison House study report

(Report amended as of August 15, 2024)

The proposed designation will be discussed and voted upon at a public hearing on August 27, 2024. Please look for the meeting notice in the public notices section of our website.