Freedom House Museum

What an incredibly wonderful hidden gem. This museum highlights one of Alexandria historical stories about enslaved people. This museum was the site of a slave dealer company and the enslaved people were kept in the facilities in back including a large courtyard. The museum is self-guided but the employees there can provide a good introduction along with fantastic maps to illustrate the timeline of events. This is history we should never forget and we must pay respect and honor to those men, women, and children who suffered under slavery. I implore everyone to please visit this museum and learn something new. Spread the information. Support historical preservation. We must never forget.

This museum did such a great job honoring the lives and history of the enslaved people that went through Alexandria. It is a heavy topic, but absolutely worth learning about. I would definitely recommend this museum! The employees were very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. There's parking in the back. Bathrooms on every floor. Elevator to access the 2nd and 3rd floors. They have stations for visitors to share their thoughts and ideas. Oh and they have a discussion room with seating if you wanted to reflect on what you saw with others.

This museum was really good. I’ve been to several and this is worth seeing. A lot of history in Alexandria VA especially as it pertains to 1k to 2k slaves being sold to the Deep South from this building a year in the 1800’s. Free if you live in Alexandria. A small cost if you don’t.

An important local history museum highlighting the role of slavery in the past of Alexandria and the continuing struggle for full equality. Would have liked more details, artefacts and photos but still an interesting experience.

We finally made it to the Freedom House Museum, a celebration of freedom and achievement located in a house that once auctioned enslaved people. The museum effectively conveys the tragedy of slavery while sharing the stories of those in bondage, then the progress made by African Americans (especially by Virginians). Few people understand the enormous size of domestic human trafficking that took place before the Civil War, and the Freedom House Museum corrects this. A few notes: -The folks working there are very knowledgeable & can add a lot to your experience. Talk to them! -There is free parking in the back of the building, and handicap parking in the front. -Inexpensive entry fee (we were glad to support the museum’s mission!). You’ll leave uplifted: please don’t miss out!

Was closed when I visited Old Town but I plan to visit again. The African American Museum occupies what use to be the offices of Franklin and Armfield who were the biggest slaves traders in Alexandria. Armfield bought the slaves and then sent them to Franklin in Mississippi and Louisiana to be sold at a higher price. By the 1830s they were offen selling a 1000 slaves a year. This made them the largest slave-trading company in the US intill 1836. Addition - Normally costs about five dollars but it turned out, as a resident of Alexandria, I got in free! A lot of the exhibits dealt with slavery/African American history via first person experiences on top of general history. Also it helped that I had visited some of the sites mentioned and knew some of the stories already. Helped me put things together. There was also a art exhibit. Nice little museum. Before I left I bought two books - Uncommon Ground : Archaeology and Early African American, 1650-1800 and Alexandria's The Freedmen's Cemetery ; A Legacy of Freedom. So I ended up with a lot books when I got home.

Great information about Alexandria's history and role in the enslavement of Africans. I appreciate that Petersburg was highlighted in some exhibits. It's my hometown.

The city of Alexandria is great at acknowledging it’s past with signs and monuments throughout town highlighting a very complex history. The recently re-opened Freedom House summarizes and brings to life Alexandria’s history with the trade of enslaved people. The first floor is focused on the past, the second is focused on more recent history such as BLM, and the top floor is focused less on history but on art. Worth a visit and plan on being there for at least 1.5 hrs.