Alexandria African American Heritage Park

Duke Street on Holland Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314,
703/ 838-4356.

Handicapped Accessible. The Alexandria Black History Resource Center's nine-acre memorial park preserves the site of a 19th-
century African American Baptist cemetery. Of twenty-one known burials on this site, six identified headstones remain and are in their original location. The focal point of the park is a sculpted group of bronze trees called "Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered" by sculptor Jerome Meadows. This formation acknowledges the contributions of African Americans to the growth of Alexandria.

http://www.alexblackhistory.org

African American Heritage Park

Photograph by Jerome Meadows

Alexandria Black History Resource Center

638 North Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA,
22314, 703/ 838-4356. Mon, Closed; Tues-Sat, 10 am - 4 pm; Sun, 1 pm - 5 pm.

The Alexandria Black History Resource Center documents the contributions of African Americans to Alexandria's history and culture from 1749 to the present. The building that today houses the Center was constructed in 1940 as the Robinson Library, the African American community's first public library. The Watson Reading Room is a non-circulating research repository focusing on issues of African American history and culture. The Center offers exhibitions, lectures and special events throughout the year.

http://www.alexblackhistory.org

Chantilly Baptist Church

14312 Chantilly Baptist Lane, Chantilly, VA 20153,
703/ 378-6880.

After a series of services in a "Little Log School House," Chantilly Baptist Chruch was organized on April 18, 1880. In December 1881, the congregation purchased an acre of land on which to build a church. The price of the property was $100.00 and the property itself was the acre of land on which the "Little School House" had stood.

The Gum Springs Historical Society, Inc.

8100 Fordson Road,
Alexandria (Gum Springs), VA 22306-6324, 703/ 768-3756.

This Black community was founded by patriarchal freedman West Ford, a former slave of George Washington's family. He acquired the property in 1833. Gum Springs became a place for "runaways" and recently freed slaves to live. Helped by Quakers, freed slaves worked in the trades they had learned as estate slaves. Exhibits, photographs, and artifacts may be viewed by appointment.

The Slave Memorial at Mount Vernon Estate

George Washington Memorial Parkway, off US Route 1, Mount Vernon, VA, 703/ 780-2000, 800-429-1520.

The memorial emphasizing Love, Hope, and Faith honors and recognizes the contributions and talents of African American crafts people, laborers, and artisans. A lasting tribute to the men and women who served as slaves at Mount Vernon Estate, home of George Washington. An annual Heritage Celebration and Commemoration program is held each June.

http://www.mountvernon.org