What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Home
United States
Washington D.C., DC
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site

Directions Website

This is the official page of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.
(370)

The Frederick Douglass National Historic Site preserves and interprets Cedar Hill, where Frederick Douglass lived from 1877 until his death in 1895. Born into slavery, Douglass escaped to spend his life fighting for justice and equality for all people. His tireless struggle, brilliant words, and inclusive vision of humanity continue to inspire and sustain people today.

10/21/2026

Discover the life and legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson at the newly rehabilitated Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site in Washington, D.C. The historic home is reopening with expanded exhibit space, a new visitor center and exhibits highlighting Woodson’s lasting contributions to African American history.

Free advance tickets are now available through Recreation.gov for tours beginning Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Tour days: Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Standard tours: 9 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. with reservations available for up to 15 tickets per transaction.

Group tours: 9:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 2 p.m. with reservations of up to 60 tickets per transaction.

Walk-in visitors are welcome, subject to tour availability. A $1 service fee applies to each reserved ticket. School groups are subject to a flat fee of $10 per group. Explore the home and office of the historian, scholar and educator who founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and helped establish Black History Month.

For information on how to visit, how to obtain tickets, and more, visit nps.gov/cawo, or Recreation.gov.

Image: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, NMAH, Smithsonian Institution

10/17/2026

Frederick Douglass was the most photographed man of the 19th century, but he was not alone in his enjoyment of photography. In the 1840s, getting your photograph taken was an expensive luxury; by the 1880s, the technology had developed to the point where photography was readily accessible to most of the American middle class.

Photographs were not just hung on walls, but also printed in newspapers, given as gifts, or sent as greeting cards. Several photos of this nature can be found within Cedar Hill’s collection, including this photo of one “Annie Purvis.”

Though we are not certain of her identity, the woman in this photo is likely Harriet Anne “Annie” Purvis, a member of the prominent abolitionist Purvis family. In 1877, her cousin Charles Purvis—a Black physician and personal friend of Mr. Douglass—loaned Frederick Douglass the $6,700 he used to purchase Cedar Hill. Harriet Anne Purvis would have been 26 when this photograph was taken in 1883.

Do you have any keepsakes that remind you of your friends?

NPS Photo

10/16/2026

Recent visitors to Frederick Douglass National Historic Site may have noticed a few people around the hill digging small holes, only to fill them in right after. If you were curious, wonder no longer--this was an archeological test project!

Anywhere people live or spend time for long enough will have artifacts laying around, and some of those will wind up under the surface. At places like Frederick Douglass's house, we have to check for important lost items before we can add anything to or change the landscape at all.

Don't worry, we are not planning on tearing up the whole hill--these test pits are being dug in specific, targeted locations where we plan to plant new trees! This enables us to add greenery to the park without endangering any archeological finds that may be hiding under the surface.

What sort of interesting items have you uncovered in the past?

NPS Photo

10/16/2026

The Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is re-opening! In anticipation of that moment, we're looking for volunteers to make it a smashing success. Do you know someone who can may be interested in helping for a few hours at this special event?

Spread the word. Be among the first to see the brand-new Woodson Home and museum.

Learn more here: https://ow.ly/kcgK50ZVrqp

10/16/2026

Applications for the 2026 Frederick Douglass Oratorical Contest are open through Wednesday November 11th! Think you have what it takes to follow in Frederick Douglass' footsteps? Show off your public speaking skills by reciting one of his famous speeches! Virtual and in-person participation options available.

Learn more and apply to enter at: https://ow.ly/EsbC50ZQLfA

Image: NPS

10/16/2026

Celebrate fall at Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm's Fall Festival!

Join them on October 17 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm to discover “The Story of the Soil.”

Learn about the story of Oxon Hill Farm and the different people who called this farm home. From living history to arts and crafts, immerse yourself in our story.

Bring your family and friends—this event is completely free to attend! No registration is required, so come ready to enjoy a day of fun.

For more information and a schedule of events please visit: https://go.nps.gov/fall-festival

NPS Photo/ C.LaBarge

10/14/2026

Frederick Douglass made his way to freedom from enslavement in 1838, but that likely would not have been possible without the hard work of the woman who would soon become his wife: Anna Murray.

A free Black woman living in Baltimore and working in laundry, Anna met Frederick while he was assigned to dockyard work in the city's port. Over the years, many fortunate incidents had to come together to allow this to happen. He happened to be living and working in Baltimore at the same time as her, far from the distant, locked-down farmlands he had grown up in. Anna was free to travel the city, work for herself, and talk with whomever she pleased--within the still-restrictive society of a state where chattel slavery was legal, of course. Anna was especially fortunate as her parents had been manumitted shortly before her birth, ensuring she was born free.

This all goes to show that, though they and many others did great work to bring the world more in line with the ideals and potential future they knew was possible, their success could never be taken for granted. Many enslaved people made solid plans to free themselves, but even the best plans could fall apart through bad fortune.

Through his life and work, Frederick Douglass reminds us today that success is a combination of effort and luck, but he also worked hard to lower barriers such that those who followed after him would not need to rely nearly so much on luck for even the smallest possibility of success.

What is a moment in your life, either through fortune or hard effort, that brought you to where you are today?

NPS Photo

10/13/2026

As a child, Frederick Douglass’s first serious dreams of escape were when his Aunt Jennie and Uncle Noah escaped from his old enslaver, Captain Anthony. Douglass was only eight when news of their escape sent Anthony into a rage. This laid the foundation for Douglass to consider the distant but ever-present dream to escape from enslavement a potential reality.

He would attempt to reach freedom several times in his youth before finally escaping with the help of a local free woman in Baltimore, Anna Murray. He later married Anna, and together they built a life--a life free of bo***ge.

Image: Library of Congress

10/12/2026

"It was no unusual occurrence for mother to be called up at all hours of the night, cold or hot, as the case might be, to prepare supper for a hungry lot of fleeing humanity." - Rosetta Douglass Sprague, Anna Murray Douglass, My Mother as I Recall Her.

Though Frederick was the most famous person Anna Murray Douglass aided in seeking freedom, he was far from the last. During the twenty-five years the family lived in Rochester, New York, Anna continued to aid others that came to the Douglass home via the Underground Railroad.

With the passage of Fugitive Slave Laws, those who had escaped slavery were not safe from recapture in northern states, even though slavery had already been abolished in them. This meant that the safest place for many to move to was Canada, and so nearby Rochester became an important final stopping point before the border.

Even when raising a family, often times without Frederick present, Anna continued to feel it was her duty to help those in need on their perilous journey.

Image: Library of Congress

10/11/2026

Did you know Frederick Douglass’s first job after escaping slavery was shoveling coal?

Douglass escaped slavery in 1838, but was unsure if he was truly safe from being recaptured. He left with his wife Anna for New Bedford, Massachusetts to find work and safety.

Here, he would recall years later in his memoir, “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,” as he solicited work from locals as a general laborer, and after helping bring in coal for one household:

“I was not long in accomplishing the job, when the dear lady put into my hand two silver half dollars. To understand the emotion which swelled my heart as I clasped this money, realizing that I had no master who could take it from me—that it was mine—that my hands were my own, and could earn more of the precious coin—one must have been in some sense himself a slave. My next job was stowing a sloop at Uncle Gid. Howland’s wharf with a cargo of oil for New York. I was not only a freeman but a free-working man, and no Master Hugh stood ready at the end of the week to seize my hard earnings.”

What was your first job?

Image: Pendleton, Leila Amos. Frederick Douglass; a narrative. Washington, D.C, 1921. Pdf. (Library of Congress)

Address

1411 W Street SE
Washington D.C., DC
20020

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.nps.gov/frdo

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Frederick Douglass National Historic Site posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.