A visit to Frederick Douglass's home in Washington, D.C.

"Frederick Douglass" and his aide welcome hundreds of visitors to his home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

His birth date is uncertain since he was born a slave, but it is often listed as February 14, 1818. 

On the occasion of the 200th birthday celebration last weekend of Frederick Douglass, I ventured out to his home, Cedar Hill in Anacostia in Washington, D.C., where I joined hundreds of others to learn more about the man and his legacy.

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Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The National Park Service was out in full force with many park rangers on hand to guide and direct visitors, and although the Park Service budget is too low for all it does,  the people of the United States and visitors are grateful to the Park Service for its preservation and protection of our historic places.

Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth/Photo by Patricia Leslie

 Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

I was led to Cedar Hill by Mr. Douglass's first book, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,  An American Slave, published in 1845.  I read it recently, stunned by his eyewitness accounts of treatment received by him and others at the hands (and tools) of slave masters who beat and tormented their slaves. 

The book is an eye-opener and much of it takes places right outside Washington at St. Michael's in and around Talbot County, Maryland where Mr. Douglass was born.  If I were in charge, I would make this short book required reading for all high school students.

A National Park Service ranger presents the history of Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C. to visitors waiting in line to enter the home on the 200th birthday celebration of the abolitionist and former slave/Photo by Patricia Leslie

One woman standing in line at Cedar Hill told me she had been waiting about 40 minutes/Photo by Patricia Leslie

What drove Mr. Douglass to want to learn how to read?  He knew education would open doors and offer opportunity.   How did he learn this?

Until her slave master husband made her stop, a woman began teaching Mr. Douglass how to read.  Even after the private lessons ceased, Mr. Douglass knew enough to keep going, teaching himself and other slaves how to read. During Sunday school classes he led where he taught reading, he took a huge risk that the slave master would find out and beat him.

Visitors climb the steps to Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The south side of Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass in Anacostia, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

The view from Cedar Hill, Frederick Douglass's home in Anacostia, Washington, D.C. looking towards the U.S. Capitol, in the distance/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The dome of the U.S. Capitol can be seen in the distance from the front of Frederick Douglass's home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Narrative, the first of three autobiographies he wrote, Mr. Douglass refused to tell exactly how he made his way to freedom, fearful the information would impair escapes for other slaves. 

He was an abolitionist, an orator, a supporter of women's suffrage, a builder of rental housing for blacks, presidential appointee, the first black to receive a vote for president of the United States from a delegate at the Republican National Convention (1888).

On display in the small museum at Cedar Hill are items which Frederick Douglass and his wife, Helen Pitts, may have collected from their trips to Italy, England, France, Ireland, and Greece in 1886 and 1887/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The Bible of Frederick Douglass on display in the small museum at his home, Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

On June 17, 2015 Loretta Lynch used Mr. Douglass's Bible when she was sworn in as the first black woman to be appointed U.S. Attorney General.  The photograph is on display in the museum at Cedar Hill/Photo by Patricia Leslie

A display case of Mr. Douglass's Bible and other items/Photo by Patricia Leslie

The death mask of Frederick Douglass by Ulric Dunbar made on February 21, 1895, the day after he died.  Before the advent of photography, death masks were an important remembrance for loved ones. Visitors to Cedar Hill immediately after Mr. Douglass's death included Susan B. Anthony/Photo by Patricia Leslie


Until he died of a heart attack at his home in 1895,  Mr. Douglass lived at Cedar Hill from 1877 with his first wife,  Anna Murray who died in 1882, and then, his second wife, Helen Pitts, a white lady and his employee whom he married in 1884.

More history of the house, its price, acreage, and a photo from 1887 are here.  

I waited too long in the afternoon to stand in the 40-minute line to see the interior of the house before I had to leave for the concert opera, but I did have time to stop by the small museum and walk around the grounds.   

The postcards I bought in the tiny gift shop I sent to family members, writing that Cedar Hill would be on the agenda the next time they come to visit.   

Black History Month is celebrated in February because it is the birthday month of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln.  The NAACP was founded on the centennial of Mr. Lincoln's birthday, February 12, 1909.

Today at 2 p.m. in the East Building auditorium at the National Gallery of Art, a free lecture and book signing on Mr. Douglass will be presented by Celeste-Marie Bernier, professor of black studies and personal chair in English literature, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh, and coeditor in chief, Journal of American Studies, Cambridge University Press. 

What:  Cedar Hill, the home of Frederick Douglass

When:  Open every day, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Where:   1411 W Street SE, Washington, DC, 20020

Getting there:  Parking is limited in the area and in the small, free parking lot.  

The best way to get there is via Metro.  Take the Green Line and disembark at the Anacostia station.  Take Bus #B2 to Mt. Rainier or Bladensburg Rd. V St., NE or Bus #V2 to Minnesota Avenue or Capitol Heights Station. The bus stops directly in front of the site at the corner of W and 14th Streets.
 
Or walk from Metro, about 3/4 mile. Take a right on Howard Road and walk a block. Turn left on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue  and walk three blocks. Turn right on W Street and walk four blocks to the Visitor's Center.

Cost:  Admission is free, however, reservations to tour the house (only permitted with a park ranger) are encouraged ($1.50).

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