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Alexandria has been host to more than 250 years of African American history, exemplifying the black experience in the United States. From the days of slavery to the civil rights movement, Alexandria was witness to it all. Here are some of the city's most notable sites with a significant role in the course of African American history.
Market Square
300 Block of King Street
A constant center of activity, Market Square was also at the center of the slave trade. Not only were slaves sold there, but enslaved African Americans came to sell their wares, like vegetables or crafts, to make enough money to buy their freedom. Sophia Browning Bell sold enough tomatoes and vegetables to free her husband, George, who went on to establish the first school for African American children in Washington D.C.
Dominick Barecroft Public House
315 Cameron Street
In the early 19th century, Dominick Barecroft freed himself and his wife from slave owner David Henderson and subsequently went out to become one of Alexandria's most successful businessmen. He owned a tavern on North Fairfax Street from 1803 to 1824, which was widely attended and featured crab suppers attracting diners from across Washington.
Franklin & Armfield Slave Office & Pen (Freedom House)
1315 Duke Street
The headquarters of the slave operations of business partners Isaac Franklin and John Armfield, this building was home to one of the largest slave trading companies in the country. Here, enslaved African Americans were housed in "pens" before being sent to the South. During the Civil War, the building became a jail for captured Confederate soldiers, rowdy Union soldiers, as well as escaped or freed slaves.
Bruin "Negro Jail"
1707 Duke Street
Joseph Bruin operated Alexandria's other slave trade business, and housed the enslaved people in his jail until they were purchased. In 1848, 77 African Americans who had attempted to escape a ship were sold to Bruin—two of which were sisters Emily and Mary Edmondson. Their story of trying to raise money to purchase their father from Bruin got the attention of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the author used the story as research for her book.
Moses Hepburn Home and Townhomes
206-212 North Pitt Street
Moses Hepburn was one of the wealthiest free African Americans in Northern Virginia. Inheriting wealth from his wealthy white father, hepburn was educated in Pennsylvania and became a successful businessman, civic leader and founder of David Chapel and Roberts Memorial. After he sent his son to school, however, Alexandria authorities threatened him with punishment—Virginia forbade the education of African Americans. As a result, Hepburn and his family decided to move north, to Pennsylvania.
Freedmen's Cemetery
1001 South Washington Street & 714 Church Street
Established during the Civil War, the Freedmen's Cemetery was originally used for the burials of "contrabands"—freed or runaway slaves, but also included several African American soldiers. The soldier's graves were moved in January 1865 to the Soldier's Cemetery, and the Freedmen's Cemetery was unfortunately neglected, only to be discovered recently by archaeologists.
Alfred Street Baptist Church
313 South Alfred Street
One of the oldest existing African American church structures in the city and the oldest congregation, the Alfred Street Baptist Church was built in 1885, probably by free Black craftsmen. It is also the landmark of the Bottoms neighborhood, the first free black neighborhood in Alexandria.
Alexandria Library
717 Queen Street
In August 1939 (decades before the Civil Rights movement), black attorney Samuel Tucker led a sit-in at the Alexandria Public Library, protesting against the fact that African Americans were denied its used. Five men were arrested, charged and released, but the case was never ruled upon. As a result, the city built the Robinson Library for African Americans, which is now home to the Black History Resource Center.
African American Heritage Park
Holland Lane between Duke Street & Eisenhower Avenue
On the site of the Black Baptist Cemetery, the oldest known independent African American burial ground, the African American Heritage Park honors the contribution of African Americans throughout the history of Alexandria's growth and success.
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