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Price, Birch & Co.

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Price, Birch & Co., available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 9 August 202515 sources
Franklin & Armfield
Company typePrivate
IndustrySlave trade
Founded1828
FounderIsaac Franklin, John Armfield
FateBusiness ended circa 1836; building sold to George Kephart
Headquarters
Alexandria, Virginia
,
United States
ProductsEnslaved people (trafficked)

The Franklin and Armfield Office, which currently houses the Freedom House Museum, is a significant historic commercial structure located in Alexandria, Virginia—a city that remained part of the District of Columbia until 1846. Constructed around 1810 to 1820, the building originally functioned as a private home before becoming the headquarters of the largest slave trading enterprise in the United States, established in 1828 by Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. Analysis of ship records held in the National Archives estimates that this firm trafficked "at least 5,000" enslaved people.[1]

Situated at 1315 Duke Street, just to the west of Alexandria's Old Town, this three-story brick edifice exhibits Federal-style architecture featuring a mansard roof and a foundation of brick. The building's front facade showcases Flemish bond brickwork, while the sides and rear employ common bond patterns. The windows and main entrance are framed within segmented arch openings, enhanced by gabled dormers on the roof.[2]

Recognized as both a National Historic Landmark and a Virginia Historic Landmark since 1978, the property was previously owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League, which operated it as a museum dedicated to exploring the history of the slave trading firm and the experiences of enslaved individuals.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name In March 2020, ownership transferred to the City of Alexandria, which reopened it as a museum in June 2022.[3]

History

Originally erected in the 1810s by Robert Young, a brigadier general in the District of Columbia Militia, financial hardships forced him to sell the property shortly after its completion.

Franklin & Armfield

In 1828, Isaac Franklin together with his nephew-in-law John Armfield acquired this building to serve as their office near Washington and as Armfield’s residence.[4] They expanded the premises by adding facilities designed for detaining and trading enslaved people, also providing lodging for slaveholders visiting Washington at a rate of 25 cents per day.[5] The rear section includes a two-story extension containing jail-like cells with barred doors and windows.

The company operated three vessels as packet ships traveling between Alexandria and New Orleans, promoting scheduled departures and offering secure holding services for enslaved persons at 25 cents per day.[6]

By 1833–34, Franklin & Armfield maintained agents in several cities such as Richmond, Warrenton, Fredericktown, Baltimore, and Easton. Additional affiliated agents were active in Port Tobacco, Annapolis, and Fredericksburg.[7]

Franklin began withdrawing from the business around 1835; Armfield subsequently sold the property in 1836 to former associate George Kephart.

Dominating the domestic slave market, Franklin and Armfield accumulated wealth equivalent to billions today. Franklin managed sales operations from Natchez, Mississippi, with branches located in New Orleans, St. Francisville, and Vidalia in Louisiana. Armfield directed procurement efforts through agents canvassing Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.[8][9]

Both Maryland and Virginia had surplus enslaved populations treated as export commodities comparable to livestock. As illustrated in Uncle Tom's Cabin, Franklin and Armfield played a pivotal role in forcibly relocating enslaved people from the Upper South to plantations in the Lower South. Existing correspondence documents their harsh treatment of those enslaved individuals who passed through their operation.[8]

Price, Birch and Co.

Beginning in 1858, the premises became the base for Price, Birch & Co., an American slave trading enterprise established by George Kephart, William Birch, J. C. Cook, and Charles M. Price. This company remained active until 1861.[5][10][11][12]

In May 1861, Union troops discovered that the firm had abandoned its Duke Street office, leaving behind only a single enslaved man confined within.[13] By the following year, the structure was repurposed as a police station and detention center for Confederate prisoners; its former slave holding areas were described as "horrible dens" with no ventilation.[14] The Union Army continued to use the facility as a military jail until February 1866.[2][15]

Toward the end of the Civil War, the building was converted into L'Ouverture Hospital to care for black soldiers and provide shelter for contraband individuals.[5]

Use after the Civil War

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, the external slave pens associated with the building were torn down, with some bricks likely reused in nearby residential developments. The main edifice now functions as the Freedom House Museum, which presents displays related to the slave trade history; meanwhile, its second floor accommodates offices for the Northern Virginia Urban League.

In 2005, a historical marker was placed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to acknowledge the building’s past as a holding pen leased in 1828 by Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. They acquired it outright in 1832 and operated one of America’s largest slave trading businesses, transporting enslaved individuals from Virginia to Louisiana markets until 1836. The property remained under ownership tied to slave traders up until 1861.

Freedom House Museum

During the 1990s, the Northern Virginia Urban League took ownership of the building, creating an exhibit in the basement focused on slavery while utilizing the upper levels for administrative offices and educational spaces.

In 2018, a collaboration was formed between the Office of Historic Alexandria and the Urban League to safeguard and interpret the historic site. That same year, the Urban League was awarded $50,000 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

The City of Alexandria acquired the property from the Urban League in March 2020. The Freedom House Museum officially reopened in June 2022, featuring three exhibitions that explore the Black experience both within Alexandria and throughout the United States.

See also


Further reading

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Sweig
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nhl
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :1
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named thetroubledlegacy
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Lies
  6. ↑ Slavery and the Constitution. By William I. Bowditch
  7. ↑ 1315 Duke Street – Building and Property History
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Wapo
  9. ↑ Smithsonian Magazine
  10. ↑ "Andrew Joseph Russell | Slave Pen, Alexandria, Virginia".
  11. ↑ My Genealogy Hound. "Alexandria, Virginia, Price and Birch, Armsfield and Franklin, Slave Pen, Historic Photos". Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ Colby, Robert K. D. (2024). "Chapter 2: The 'Uncongenial Air of Freedom': Union Occupation and the Slave Trade". An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 45. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197578261.003.0003. ISBN 978-0-19-757826-1. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  13. ↑ Conway, Moncure Daniel (1865). Testimonies Concerning Slavery. London: Chapman and Hill. p. 22.
  14. ↑ "Letters from the 33rd Regiment". 1862-10-17. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  15. ↑ Friedman, Saul S. (2000). Jews and the American Slave Trade. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412826938.

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