Boston, MassachusettsBoston, MassachusettsBoston, MassachusettsDid you know that the African American poet Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) lived in this neighborhood? The land (and water) on which Chinatown, New York Streets, and Little Syria eventually developed held meaning for many earlier generations of Bostonians, too. Phillis Wheatley was sold into slavery as a child in West Africa and forcibly transported across the Atlantic in 1761. The ship landed at Avery’s Wharf, near the present-day corner of Tyler and Beach Streets. At neighboring Griffin’s Wharf, she was bought by the Wheatley family. She learned to read and write and became the first African American author of a published book of poetry.
Left: Statue of Phillis Wheatley (2003), Boston Women’s Memorial, Commonwealth Avenue at Fairfield Street
Right: Phillis Wheatley commemorative stamp (2026)
