Cedar Hill

By: Eli Alford Jr.

Image Information

Caption: Historic American Buildings Survey Russell Jones, Photographer June 1963 FRONT ELEVATION Northeast

Original Source:Russell Jones, Photographer, June 1963.

Location:HABS DC, WASH, 166-2

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/pnp/habshaer/dc/dc0000/dc0092/photos&topImages=026977pr.jpg&topLinks=026977pv.jpg,026977pu.tif&title=2.%20%20Historic%20American%20Buildings%20Survey%20Russell%20Jones,%20Photographer%20June%201963%20FRONT%20ELEVATION%20Northeast%3cbr%3eHABS%20DC,WASH,166-2&displayProfile=0

Description

Cedar Hill, the abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ home, was originally purchased by John VanHook ca. in 1855. VanHook is currently the earliest known resident of ‘Cedar Hill’ or ‘The old VanHook Mansion’ as it was formerly called. VanHook later sold to the Freedom Savings and Loan, who in turn, sold it to Frederick Douglass on September 1, 1877. Douglass’ life in Washington was spent on “the Council of Government for the District of Columbia and as the U.S. Marshal for the District.” Douglass’ lived in ‘Cedar Hill’ from 1889 until his death in 1895. In 1900, Douglass’ widow founded the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association which was later bought by the federal government in 1964 and made into a National Park Service memorial.

African American Role

Cedar Hill is important to the theme African Americans in South East Washington because Frederick Douglass was a pioneer for blacks settting in the District. He was an example for former slaves, proving to them that it was possible to become a landowner. Douglass also broke down boundaries in his purchase of Cedar Hill because in 1877 it was a predomoninanly, if not all white neighborhood. Douglass also perpetuated the ‘house on a hill’ mentality with Cedar Hill. It proved to all the other people in the neighborhood that he had made it in a white society, he had become successful enough to own his own property.

References

Historic American Builders Survey; The Fredrick Douglass Home. The Library of Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhphoto&fileName=dc/dc0000/dc0092/photos/browse.db&action=browse&recNum=0&title2=Frederick%20Douglass%20House,%201411%20W%20Street,%20Southeast,%20Washington,%20District%20of%20Columbia,%20DC&displayType=1&itemLink=r?ammem/hh:@FIELD(DOCID+@BAND(@lit(DC0092))). accessed, 11-14-2006.

National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/frdo/freddoug.html.