John Coburn House

The John Coburn House stands out on Joy Street with its simple, three-story brick facade and the weathered, rectangular stone lintels topping its windows. John Coburn moved here in the eighteen forties, operating his clothing store downstairs while the upper floors became a central node for the local Underground Railroad. He served as president of the Boston Committee of Vigilance, and he kept a constant supply of trunks and disguise outfits ready for men and women escaping enslavement as they passed through Boston.