The historic Jackson Boarding House was originally constructed as a private residence by Moses and Sarah Jackson in the late 1890s. The family later converted it into a boarding house while continuing to live there, possibly beginning as early as 1910. After the opening of Tama Union Station, a railroad passenger and freight station, the house grew in importance and in physical size. Located less than one block east of the new railroad station, it provided much-needed accommodations for African American railroad workers and visitors to Tampa. During this period and through the early 1960s, African Americans were prohibited from staying in white hotels, motels, and boarding houses. Properties like the Jackson Boarding House played a crucial role during the segregation era, and although it was not the only boarding house or hotel for Black visitors to Tampa, it is the only one that remains standing. The Jackson family retained the building throughout its years as a boarding house, which ended in the 1990s, and then maintained it as a private residence until 2010.