John Carter House, long known as Shakespeare’s Head, was built in 1772 at 21 Meeting Street. It was the home, print shop, and post office of John Carter, publisher of the Providence Gazette and postmaster of Providence under Benjamin Franklin. The house takes its popular name from the sign bearing Shakespeare’s likeness that once marked Carter’s shop.
Over two and a half centuries the building has served as a boarding house, artists’ studios, and offices for civic organizations. It was stewarded by the Shakespeare’s Head Association from 1938 and later by the Providence Preservation Society. Research commissioned by PPS in 2024 documented three enslaved people who lived and worked in the house in the 18th century: Ingow, her daughter Fanny, and Primus King.
Civis Foundation acquired John Carter House from the Providence Preservation Society in 2025.
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