John Johnson House
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| John Johnson House | |
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| (U.S. National Historic Landmark) | |
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| Location: | 6306 Germantown Avenue Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | < 1 acre |
| Built/Founded: | 1768 |
| Architect: | Jacob Norr |
| Architectural style(s): | Colonial Georgian |
| Added to NRHP: | 1972 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72001162 |
| Governing body: | Johnson House Historic Site, Inc. |
The John Johnson House (also known as the Johnson House) is a National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, significant for its role in the antislavery movement and the Underground Railroad. Philadelphia, especially its Germantown section, was a center of the 19th-century American movement to abolish slavery, and the Johnson House is one of the key sites of that movement. Between 1770 and 1908, the house acted as the residence for five generations of the Johnson family. The third generation was active in the Underground Railroad during the 1850s. Along with their respective spouses, Rowland, Israel, Ellwood, Sarah, and Elizabeth Johnson were members of abolitionist groups such as the American Anti-Slavery Society and the Germantown Freedman's Aid Association. Through their associations with these abolitionist groups, the brothers and sisters became involved in the Underground Railroad and used their home, along with the nearby homes of relatives, to harbor fugitive slaves on their journeys to freedom. The Johnson House is a representative station on the Underground Railroad, and the Johnsons were among the leading abolitionists of their generation.
The house, then one of the largest in Germantown (then a suburb of Philadelphia), was built between 1765 and 1768 by Jacob Norr for Dirck Jansen, who owned the ground on which nearby Upsala was built. Jansen had it built for his son John Johnson, Sr.
The Johnson House is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 6306 Germantown Avenue and lies within the Colonial Germantown National Historic District. It is operated as a museum open to the public.
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