Early history
editThe area that would later become the Franklin and Armfield Office was annexed into the city of Alexandria, then part of the District of Columbia, in 1796 due to the extension of Duke Street through the area. The area passed between several owners, but remained undeveloped. It was purchased by Robert Young in 1812, a banker and military officer in the District of Columbia Militia. He soon constructed the three-story brick building on the site as a personal residence.[1][2]
Young and his family continued to reside in the house until 1820. Due to severe financial difficulties, the property was sold (or potentially foreclosed) to the Mechanics’ Bank of Alexandria; it was rented to various tenants over the following years.[3][4]
Franklin and Armfield
editIn May 1828, John Armfield leased the site to use as the headquarters of his slave trading firm, Franklin & Armfield.[4]
Later use
editFreedom House
editArchitecture
editReference
edit- ^ Artemel, Crowell & Parker 1987, pp. 21–23.
- ^ Skolnik & Lee 2024, p. 413.
- ^ Artemel, Crowell & Parker 1987, pp. 23–24.
- ^ a b Skolnik & Lee 2024, p. 414.
Bibliography
edit- Armus, Teo (June 18, 2022). "Once a Notorious Slave Pen, It Is Now a Museum on Slavery — And Freedom". The Washington Post.
- Artemel, Janice G.; Crowell, Elizabeth A.; Parker, Jeff (1987). The Alexandria Slave Pen: The Archaeology of Urban Captivity (PDF) (Report). Engineering-Science Inc.
- Gudmestad, Robert H. (2003b). A Troublesome Commerce: The Transformation of the Interstate Slave Trade. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 9780807129227.
- National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Franklin and Armfield Office (Report). National Register of Historic Places. 1978.
- O'Donnell, Tim (2023). "How A Once-Notorious Site of Enslavement Became a Bastion of Black History in Alexandria, Virginia". National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Rothman, Joshua D. (April 20, 2021). The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 9781541616592.
- Skolnik, Benjamin A.; Lee, Samantha J. (2024). "Ideologies in Tension and Moments of Change: The Slave Jail at 1315 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia". Historical Archaeology. 58: 409–434. doi:10.1007/s41636-024-00501-y.