Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Frederick Douglass Dwellings collection, circa 1940s-1990s

Summary

Collection ID:
ACMA.06-066
Dates:
circa 1940s-1990s
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear feet
(3 boxes)
Repository:
The collection, which dates from circa 1940s to 1990s and measures 1.15 linear feet, documents the daily lives and activities of the residents of the Frederick Douglass Dwellings and other areas of Anacostia, as well as the demolition of the Frederick Douglass Dwellings. The collection is comprised of color and black-and-white photographs, studio portraits, slides, negatives, documents from community organizations, magazines and clippings.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
Built as temporary housing for World War II workers, the Frederick Douglass Dwellings were located on land previously owned by Tobias Henson, a former slave, who, after purchasing his freedom and that of his family, purchased and developed a 24-acre tract called The Ridge. Henson added to his landholdings and by the 1870s his family was the principal landholder in the black community of Stantontown; they remained on the land until the 1940s, when the federal government condemned the community to build the Frederick Douglass Dwellings. Deemed uninhabitable in 1998 and left vacant, the Frederick Douglass Dwellings were demolished in 2000 to make way for a new mixed-income community.

Administration

Author
Carrie Gehrer
Custodial History note
The Frederick Douglass Dwellings collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum in 2009 by members of the Southeast Voices.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
Use of materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Preferred Citation note
Frederick Douglass Dwellings collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of members of the Southeast Voices.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
African Americans Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographic prints Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anacostia (Washington, D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Black-and-white photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Public housing Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African Americans -- Social life and customs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
African American neighborhoods Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washington (D.C.) Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Color photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anacostia Community Museum Archives
1901 Fort Place, SE
Washington, D.C. 20020
ACMArchives@si.edu