Founded in 1749, Alexandria, Virginia, was a major American port that was home to both the country’s largest slave-trading firm and a large free Black community. Local guide John Chapman leads a walking tour of the city’s OId Town neighborhood that takes in sites connected to this history.
Begin in front of the Freedom House Museum, where the office of Franklin and Armfield—notorious slave traffickers in antebellum Alexandria—was housed. Stop along the Duke Street corridor at the site of Bruin’s Slave Jail, which played a part in the story of the Edmonson sisters who had tried to escape to freedom on the schooner Pearl. A bronze sculpture of the sisters, who were eventually freed, marks this historic site.
Along the way, visit sites connected to early African American spirituality such as Shiloh Baptist Church, one of Alexandria’s original African American churches, and the Alexandria National Cemetery, formerly known as the Soldiers’ Cemetery, where more than 250 members of the United States Colored Troops are buried.
Know Before You Go
- Tour participants meet at 1315 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia.
- Street parking is available in the neighborhood surrounding the starting location.
- The tour is 2 hours in length.
Additional Date Options for this Tour
General Information
- Registration for this tour will end by 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
- Smithsonian Associates is a mask-friendly environment. Please feel free to bring and wear a mask at any time during a tour, both for your safety or the safety of others.
- As we aim to move away from single use water bottles, guests are strongly encouraged to get in the habit of bringing their own reusable water bottle on tour.
- For additional tour information:
