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.

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!

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.

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.

Visiting the Freedom House Museum is important if you call the D.C. area home or live anywhere in the U.S. Once the country's most active trading post that trafficked thousands of Black Americans, the museum tells the story of America's most evil element while honoring the people who fell victim to it. Open Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday and Monday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., the museum cost $5 for non-Alexandria residents and non-veterans. A staff member will give you a brief overview of the museum and let you experience the three floors of exhibits. The main exhibit talks about the history of the building, but in a way that focuses on the people trafficked and their impact on the community. The second floor showcases impactful Black Alexandrians throughout the decades. The top floor has an art exhibit and a reflection room for those who want to process the museum's history. It's a powerful museum and one worth taking seriously. Park for free on the street outside and get ready to learn and have your heart broken for the evil humans put on fellow humans.

I wasn't able to go inside because it is closed for renovations. Found it easily enough via Apple Maps. I was able to walk around and see the front and back of the building. Chilling to think of what happened here years ago. Places like this are an important reminder of the dark parts of US history. May we never forget and never repeat the sins of our ancestors. I look forward to visiting this museum once it reopens.

Haven't been yet, but I saw posts in other places that said they couldn't find the museum even with the street address. I felt compelled to get some pictures up. But, i guess I have a problem with the name....Freedom? Freedom House? And those here who take issue with the size of the place....the enslaved people thought that same thing. The enslaved people thought it was small too. I've lived in Washington for decades and only recently found about about this museum on Yelp. Its just like it was then....right before our eyes....all of that misery, right there for all to see.....if we looked. Recently read that there were several hotels in Washington City where one could rent the hotel room and in the same deal, have enslaved people just purchased at auction, held behind bars in the hotel's cellar. Found advertisements for the 'service' in old newspapers. We must know these things. Visitors, donate to the museum when visiting. No small forgiveness, but we must pass this on to next generations. We must remember that enslaved people were bought and sold in our federal city. Blocks away in Alexandria, there were people in chains, being carted off. What the sounds were, the misery that people witnessed, it makes the blood turn cold at the thought. Thanks to Yelp for bringing us information about this little known museum. Nothing you'll find in the tour books, but it deserves to be known. You've seen dozens of tour books, brochures, and now, websites....you've never seen this museum mentioned. It serves as silent witness that people, given the chance, choose to ignore. A link: https://nvulypn.wildapricot.org/About-Us-(NOVAUL)

One of the perks of living in Alexandria is being in the midst of so many historical places. I took my daughter to see this place and it did not disappoint. All of the staff was very passionate about educating about the past of the Freedom House. Going downstairs was an eye-opening experience. It is a small window to the injustice faced by African Americans, even after they were freed.

The small, brick-walled cellar of this 1812 rowhouse, with its original iron bars is an artifact of the chilling story of the thousands of enslaved people who passed through here between 1828 and 1861, all the while, the white slave traders lived and worked on the floors above them. The former Franklin & Armfield Office which houses the Freedom House Museum was at one point in history the largest slave trading company in the country. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978. It does not have crowds, since even most people living in the Alexandria do not know about it. Its very unassuming facade hides a terrible stories within. The outlying slave pens were torn down after the Civil War but the few pens within the building serve as a somber reminder of the evil business practice of the traffickers in the sale of humans - before the Civil War (and today). Walking down to the basement - to the slave pens - gives you a chilling feeling and you seek how to pay tribute to the slaves that came through this building. This is a perfect museum to start educating children about US history and its ugly face of slavery and in silence of those thick brick walls and iron bars you can tell the story of the less fortunate children since, "there were a few boys whose age did not exceed ten or fifteen years" This is a very small museum - like many other great museums in Alexandria - so do not have expectations of spending more then 15 minutes in it, but those 15 minutes may be very useful reflection, in this world that we live in now. I have read some small books in the past and they were etched in my memory forever, so my hope is that people will not judge this museum by size (its cover) but by a message that you receive there.

This is a very small, not-too-well-known museum in Old Town Alexandria. The Freedom House Museum was originally the headquarters of a major slave trade business, and actually housed slaves. It was preserved and eventually converted into a museum. The exhibit is very small, taking up the space of the basement of the home. It's been preserved to be very much like how it was during slavery, and has a TV with videos of people portraying slaves and reciting their memoirs. It won't give you an incredibly in-depth, comprehensive knowledge of slavery but I did learn more things than what was taught in school. It's a bit out of the way compared to most of the museums in the DC area, but it's worth visiting since it is in Old Town.

Alexandria is a place to discover new things in the most subtle corners. As a historian, I've visited many sites but Freedom House has such an impact on me that I consider it an absolute must for anyone interested in a genuine historical experience. Raw, solemn and etched in my memory, my visit there puts the focus on overlooked events that are crucial in understanding the area and the period. The exhibit while small, is so well done and so powerful in its approach and inclusion of primary sources, that I found it as enriching if not more, than those of large museums. A must visit for anyone serious about history and an emotional journey for those seeking to honor and maintain the memory of all those who suffered the devastation of slavery. Thank you to the Urban League's Northern Virginia for this labor of love.

Museum? Maybe... first try to find it, then try to see if it is open! First "Freedom House" appears NO WHERE on the outside. When are they open? Only from 10am to 4pm Monday-Friday. And I guess not on holidays, because they were not open on Presidents day - while all the other local museums and historical sites had free open houses. The website did not indicate this closing, so I suggest calling first if you are able to find the time and parking to go on Duke Street on a weekday.

Very informative. We learned a lot about the building and the people who passed through. I would definitely recommend visiting if you have time. The videos and stories are very helpful and it gives you a sense of what people had gone through. It was a little bit hard to find and a bigger sign may help, but overall highly recommended.

It would be hard for any museum to be any smaller. Might win a Ripley's award for that distinction. Basically, it is the cellar of an average sized townhouse, with one very small room opening into another. There is a reflections room, but it also has the feel of a closet. The exhibits are well made, and interesting, but it was my feeling that the museum promotes more than self-evident historical truths. We were told by a docent that the more beautiful women slaves fetched more than average prices, because they were sometimes routed into houses of prostitution in the Deep South. Miscegenation was unlawful, to my understanding, in the states in question, so this comment was an overstatement -- to put it mildly -- and the numbers of women purchased for that particular purpose -- if any -- would have been, logically, quite miniscule. Mention was also made of slaves being raped by owners; I feel compelled to suggest that these were also very uncommon occurrences. Owners certainly had sexual liaisons on occasion with slaves, but such individuals (if the behavior became public knowledge) were regarded as pariahs by their fellow citizens; sexual interactions were thus relatively rare, and miscegenation has only become commonplace in modern times. Finally, mention was made by a docent of "forced breeding." This comment was also speculative and more worthy of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museums; when men and women are placed in close proximity to one another, in any capacity, sexual interactions can occur, and logically a minimum of "force" was required. If the purpose of this museum is to make presentations of historical truths, my feeling is that it delves too confidently into grey areas that cannot be substantiated. If the latter is the reality of the situation, then any claim the museum makes in regard to objectivity is illusory. To merely state something does not necessarily make it true. The statement may be titillating or spur interest or fascination, or promote a political agenda; these factors also do not a truth make. For more information on the realities of slavery, including notions about "forced breeding," suggested reading is "Time On the Cross," by Fogel and Engerman. The realities they describe are much closer to the ones recounted to me by my grandparents, whose own grandparents regularly discussed with them the times and institutions in question. Slavery was most definitely a terrible sin; it can stand alone as such without embellishment.