Destinations
The Controversial But Amazing Story Of The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
If you are in Washington and you are looking for inspiration, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is the place to be. Learn about the life of Frederick Douglass, an African-American social reformer, who spent his life fighting for justice and equality. Find inspiration from his legacy as you learn more about this great man's tireless struggle, brilliant words and inclusive vision of humanity in his Cedar Hill home, now known as the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Read on to find out more about the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site and its controversial but awe-inspiring stories!
Take a Washington Detour to Frederick Douglass' Cedar Hill Home
The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
OK, you've seen the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the de rigueur number of museums. But there's more to a visit to the nation's capital than meets the eye — literally — at the Mall.
Built high atop a hill in Anacostia in southeast District of Columbia, just 10 minutes from the Tidal Basin and overlooking the Washington Monument and the Capitol, Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass, matches the man in stature, eloquence and grandeur.
Douglass, whom many consider the most eminent and respected African-American of the 19th century, was a runaway slave in 1838 at the age of 20. By the time he was 60, when he moved with his wife, Anna, into the 1850s brick house that he called Cedar Hill, he had distinguished himself as a renowned orator, fiery abolitionist, influential journalist and publisher, ambassador to Haiti and outspoken advocate of voting rights for women. In his spare time he served as adviser to five presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison.
The purchase of Cedar Hill by Douglass carries a sense of irony, yet at the same time serves as a parable of his life's work. Douglass once again triumphed over the obstacle of race — and did so by perpetual agitation, a concept he'd adopted as a mantra.
When John Van Hook, the original owner, was forced to sell the property due to bankruptcy, he established a covenant stipulating that it not be sold to anyone of color, including immigrants, the Irish and Catholics. But he didn't expect that the financial institution that handled the sale would have Douglass as its president.
Still, the restrictions remained in effect for three years, while Douglass used his influence in Congress and elsewhere to maneuver around the covenant's intention in order to buy the home.
The 1877 purchase continued to be controversial because Douglass himself was fostering dissension in the community. Within 18 months after his beloved Anna died, Douglass married his secretary, Helen. That was bad enough. Throw in that she was 20 years younger and white, and it's clear why living at Cedar Hill and the 15 acres on which it sat at the time was not without its challenges. Nonetheless, Douglass happily resided there for the last 17 years of his life, and it was Helen who fought vigorously to preserve Cedar Hill as his memorial.
Because of her early efforts, 70 percent of the remaining furnishings and artifacts are original — very unusual in most renovated historic settings. Somehow you look that much closer at the picture of Abraham Lincoln in the study, knowing it was a personal gift from the Great Emancipator himself — likewise the portrait of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a present she gave Douglass in honor of the many years they spent together fighting for women's right to vote.
Despite its grand size — Douglass added seven rooms to the original 14 — I felt comfortable immediately upon entering, as if I could move right in and be at home. I could visualize Douglass sitting at the small table in the family room where an unfinished game of checkers remains, the chair slightly askew as if he had just walked away for a moment. Adding to the sense of his presence, the wood-carved board and pieces reputedly were made by Douglass himself.
The nearby library, Douglass' favorite room, appears eminently readable. Stocked with more than 900 books, it's clear how big a part books played in his life. Since his early years as a slave, when he secretly taught himself to read and write, he recognized that literacy “was the pathway from slavery to freedom.”
Among the many canes that Douglass collected two especially are of great personal significance.
One, displayed in the library, was hand-crafted by a former slave-friend, with different events of Douglass' life engraved into the wood.
The other, an ivory-handled walking stick given to him by Mary Todd Lincoln after her husband's death — a reflection of the president's high regard for Douglass — can be found in the visitors center, an important stop prior to the tour of the house.
History buff that I am, the idea that both Lincoln and Douglass might have leaned upon that cane as each traveled his own rocky path into history brought me a chill.
Other rooms promise interesting tidbits of their own. The pantry sports a 25-pound ice box, original wash tub and scrub board, 1896 coal-burning stove and other housekeeping necessities of the time — none of which required electricity, of course, since there was none — or bathrooms for that matter.
Upstairs in the master bedroom (so called because, unlike today, only the “master” slept there) try to picture the over 6-foot Douglass in a bed only slightly larger than 5 feet. This required sleeping somewhat upright, akin to what a reading-in-bed position is now. Next to the bed stands the chamber pot. Despite its function, I was impressed with its elegant, intricate design ringed with gold trim. A bed pillow, embroidered by Helen, reads “Two Is Company, Three's a Crowd.”
Asked by Lincoln to recruit black soldiers for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, Douglass did — including two of his sons. It was that regiment and its last battle in which 80 percent of the soldiers died that formed the basis for the award-winning film, “Glory.” The only reason Douglass didn't lose his younger son was because the boy was sick that day and unable to join the battle.
Indeed, the long and full life of Douglass is itself a glorious story — and his home on Cedar Hill reflects that in all its glory.
WHEN YOU GO
- For information, contact Cedar Hill
- 1411 W. Street, S.E., Washington, DC 20020
- Phone 202-426-5961
- www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm.
- Cost for the interpretive tour is $1.50.
- The house is open daily except New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 4:30 p.m. in fall and winter.
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