The plaque at this site honors Pauline Agassiz Shaw (1841-1917) for her support of free kindergarten education. The first kindergarten opened in 1877, and by 1883 she was supporting 37 kindergartens. She founded day nurseries which became settlement houses, including the North Bennet Street Industrial School. She also supported the Woman’s Journal, a weekly suffrage newspaper. Shaw lived at 241 Perkins Street with her husband Quincy Adams Shaw, a wealthy copper mining investor, and their five children. Her home is now the Cabot Estates.
