Lewis Hayden | |
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| Member of 1873 Massachusetts legislature | |
| In office 1872–1873 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 2, 1811 Kentucky |
| Died | April 7, 1889 (aged 77) Boston |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Harriet Hayden |
Lewis Hayden (December 2, 1811 – April 7, 1889) escaped slavery in Kentucky with his family and reached Canada. He established a school for African Americans before moving to Boston, Massachusetts. There he became an abolitionist, lecturer, businessman, and politician. Before the American Civil War, he and his wife Harriet Hayden aided numerous fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad, often sheltering them at their house.
Hayden was elected in 1873 as a Republican representative from Boston to the Massachusetts state legislature. He helped found numerous black lodges of Freemasons. Located on the north side of Beacon Hill, the Lewis and Harriet Hayden House has been designated a National Historic Site on the Black Heritage Trail in Boston.