By Richie Oliver In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped slavery for the second time. For a brief time in his journey to freedom, Douglass was housed by Nathan and Mary “Polly” Johnson, right in the heart of New Bedford. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, he would marry Anna Murray and, with suggestion from the Johnsons, would accept the name of Douglass. From 1838 to 1841, Douglass called New Bedford his home, where he would become one of the most prominent anti-slavery voices in history, with his writing and oratory remarks becoming one of the sparks of the wider abolitionist movement. As mentioned before, the home where the Douglasses stayed was owned by Nathan and Mary “Polly” Johnson, who housed and helped escaped slaves via the Underground Railroad since 1822. By 1850, they became one of the richest African-American couples in the city, which helped with their involvement in the abolition of…

Frederick Douglass escaped slavery by train, landing in New York City in September of 1838. After only a few short weeks, he departed for New Bedford, where he would find his first home as a free man and his powerful voice as an orator and activist. Come see where Douglass lived and spoke, and how the city celebrates his life and legacy! Nathan and Polly Johnson House Nathan and Mary “Polly” Johnson were Black abolitionists who provided shelter for many enslaved families seeking freedom in the North. After escaping to New York City in 1838, Frederick Douglass married Anna Murray, a free Black woman he met when enslaved in Baltimore, Maryland. They traveled to New Bedford, where Douglass would first live as a free man in the home of Nathan and Polly Johnson. Today, you can schedule a tour of this home with the New Bedford Historical Society. The home…

Scott Brunelle is "brewing history" at Moby Dick Brewing Company.