Freedom House Museum (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Freedom House Museum
City of Alexandria Est. 1749

The building at 1315 Duke Street, two blocks south of here, was originally built around 1812 as a residence for General Robert Young, commander of Alexandria's militia, who died in 1824. This three-story brick building then became the headquarters for one of the largest slave traders in America.

In 1828, Isaac Franklin and John Armfield formed a partnership to facilitate the interstate slave trade. Though importation of slaves was outlawed in 1808, the domestic trade flourished. As the need for slave labor in northern tobacco regions decreased in the 1820's, demand grew in the Cotton Belt. Traders took advantage of this trend, acquiring slaves who were then shipped south where they could demand a much higher price. It is estimated in the 1830s, Franklin and Armfield saw profits of more than $100,000 year from the domestic slave trade.

Franklin and Armfield began to withdraw from trading in the late 1830s and by 1858, their old slave pen operated as Price, Birch, and Co. Abandoned at the start of the Civil War, the building then served as a Union jail.

Today the building is owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League, which opened the Freedom House Museum in 2008 to educate young visitors about slavery. The building is dedicated to Rev. Lewis Henry Bailey—a former slave who was sold through the slave pen to a family in Texas. Freed in 1863, he walked back to Alexandria and founded several churches and schools in Virginia, still in existence today.

Erected by City of Alexandria.


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Here follows an excerpt from the "Jaybird's Jottings" blog as written by Jay Roberts:

Freedom House Museum
Slavery is not an easy thing to talk about, but with 150th anniversary of the Civil War upon us, it’s never been more important to understand the institution that many historians agree was the main reason for the Civil War. If you live in the Washington area, and want to know about the slave trade that took place in Northern Virginia, you must go to the Freedom House Museum at 1315 Duke Street.

Taking a tip from an article by Michael Lee Pope (A Witness to War and Reunion, Alexandria Gazette Packet, May 6, 2010), I made my first visit there earlier this week. I’d actually been outside the house before, remembering seeing the new set of townhouses across the street, and trying to avoid getting run over by the dashing cars on Duke as I took a photo of the Roadside Historical Plaque. Little did I know that what stood inside this three story townhouse was such an extraordinarily well-done museum.

Walking inside, I was greeted by the docent, Vonda Stanford, who was very helpful and knowledgeable. As she led me down the stairs, she told me the entire block (Duke, West, Prince, Payne) was part of the operation.

I took the self-guided tour which includes items on the ground floor, and works its way down to the baseman where the slaves were imprisoned while they waited their fate. Standing there, seeing the bale of cotton, the steel bars, and realizing what had taken place at my very feet, well it was just remarkably haunting. Never before had a museum projected so much power.

The museum is small but beautifully done. A video shows actors recreating oral histories. Information and exhibits tell the story of slave life and the two owners, Isaac Franklin and John Armfield, who made a small fortune. From 1828 to 1836, more than 10,000 slaves were sold.

Freedom House Museum is a must see. Visiting there won’t make it any easier to talk about slavery, but you will gain a greater insight into the issues that lead to the Civil War. In fact, it may well change the way you have looked at that chapter in our history.