Paul Robeson House
Enfield
Iva Allison
Paul Robeson was an All-American football player, a Phi Beta Kappa scholarship student at Rutgers University Law School, and a graduate of the Columbia University Law School. An African American of extraordinary artistic gifts, he later became an internationally known actor and singer, and he was an activist in civil rights causes. Robeson purchased this house during the height of his popularity and used it to entertain his guests. His family owned it from March 1940 until December 1953. Robeson's refusal to remain silent about racism in the United States, along with his ardent desire for full human justice, resulted in his being ostracized by American society. He was barred from appearing at concert halls, had his passport revoked, and saw his name removed from football records he had established. He spent the last 15 years of his life abroad or as a recluse in Philadelphia, dying in January 1976. In 1995, Robeson was posthumously included in the National Football Foundations College Football Hall of Fame. The house is privately owned and not open to the public. It is included in the Enfield National Register Historic District.