Hampton National Historic Site | Towson, MD

Hampton Mansion (main house), Exterior View

Hampton National Historic Site in Towson, Maryland preserves a remnant of a vast 18th-century estate, including a Georgian manor house, gardens, grounds, and the original stone slave quarters. Owned by the Ridgely family for seven generations, the estate’s mansion was the largest private home in America when it was completed in 1790. Its furnishings, together with the estate’s slave quarters and other preserved structures, provide insight into the life of late 18th-century and early 19th-century landowning aristocracy.

During its peak in the 1820’s, more than 300 slaves worked the fields and served the household, making Hampton one of Maryland’s largest slaveholding estates. Although Maryland, as a border state, was exempted from U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the Maryland General Assembly eliminated slavery in 1864. With the end of slavery, Hampton began it long decline. A number of the former slaves continued to work at Hampton as paid household servants but the Ridgelys had to hire other hands to work the farm. Thus, in many ways, Hampton is the story of people — enslaved African Americans, indentured servants, industrial and agricultural workers, and owners. It is also the story of the economic and moral changes that made this kind of life obsolete.

Hampton Slave Quarters, Exterior View

Two, two-story stone slave houses and one log cabin still remain on the property. Built around 1850, they are vivid reminders of the labor force that helped build the Ridgely family fortune. While these buildings are located near the Hampton Farmhouse, also known as the Overseer’s House, evidence indicates that there was additional slave housing spread out across the larger farm landscape. The unusual large size and duplex style layout of these buildings suggests that two families lived in each building, although current research gives no indication how many people lived in each structure. With the end of slavery these buildings were used to house tenant farmers.

Hampton Slave Quarters, Interior View

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

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Hampton National Historic Site
Address: 535 Hampton Lane, Towson, MD 21286
Phone: 410-823-1309
Website
Map & Driving Directions

Mary Mcleod Bethune Council House | Washington D.C.

Mary McLeod Bethune achieved her greatest national and international recognition at this Washington, DC townhouse, which is now a National Historic Site operated by the U.S. Park Service. The house was not only her last home in Washington, DC, but also served as the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). From here, Bethune and the Council spearheaded strategies and developed programs that advanced the interests of African American women and the Black community.

Today, the site houses the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Museum and the National Archives for Black Women’s History. The Archives, which houses the largest manuscript collection of materials pertaining to black women and their organizations, contains extensive correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia relating to Mary McLeod Bethune. Both the museum and archives actively collect artifacts, clothing, artwork, and other materials which document the history of black women and the black community.

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

If You Go………

Stop by Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill to see the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Statue, the first ever commissioned to honor an African-American woman.

Who Was Mary McLeod Bethune?

Mary McLeod Bethune, born on July 10, 1875,  was the 15th of 17 children of former slaves.  Despite growing up amidst poverty and oppression of the Reconstruction South, she took an early interest in her own education.  With the help of benefactors, Bethune attended college hoping to become a missionary in Africa. When that did not materialize, she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1904. From six students it grew and merged with an Cookman Institute for black boys and eventually became known as Bethune-Cookman College. Its quality far surpassed the standards of education for black students at the time, rivaling those of many white schools. Bethune worked tirelessly to ensure funding for the school, and used it as a showcase for tourists and donors, to exhibit what educated black people could do. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947, one of the few women in the world who served as a college president at that time. In 2007, the school became Bethune-Cookman University. Mary McLeod Bethune also served as an advisor on African American affairs to four presidents. She was appointed Director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration by President Roosevelt. She was the first African American woman to hold so high an office in the federal government.

What is the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)?

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) is a council of national African American women’s organizations and community-based sections. Founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, the NCNW mission is to lead, develop, and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families and communities. (from www.ncnw.org). Expressing a desire to see black women united to “meet the unfolding of larger things,” the organization decided on the following objectives: to promote unity of action among women’s organizations in matters affecting the educational, cultural, economic, political and social life in America; to build a fellowship of women devoted to developing friendly relations among all people in the world; to collect and preserve information about and affecting women; and to work for the complete elimination of any and all forms of discrimination and segregation based on race, religion, color, national origin and sex.

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Mary McLeod Bethune Council House
1318 Vermont Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005-3607
Phone (Visitor Information): (202) 673-2402
Official Website
Map & Driving Directions

Frederick Douglass House National Historic Site | Washington D.C.

 

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the most famous 19th century African American. His life was a testament to the courage and persistence that serves as an inspiration to those who struggle in the cause of liberty and justice. Visitors to the site learn about his efforts to abolish slavery and his struggle for rights for all oppressed people.

Administered by the National Park Service, the site preserves the home and estate of Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent African Americans of the nineteenth century. Douglass lived in this house, which he named Cedar Hill, from 1877 until his death in 1895. The house was the first African-American National Historic Site designated by the U.S. Congress. Perched high on a hilltop, the site also offers a sweeping view of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington D.C. skyline. Take a virtual tour of the home. Perched high on a hilltop, the site also offers a sweeping view of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington D.C. skyline.

Find out more about Maryland’s black heritage sites and attractions in the Maryland African American Heritage Guide.

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Frederick Douglass House National Historic Site
Address: 1411 W Street, SE, Washington, DC 20020
Phone: (202) 426-5961
Official Website
Map & Driving Directions