George Washington Masonic National Memorial
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, a National Historic Landmark, is a memorial dedicated to George Washington. Modeled after the ancient lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt, the memorial boasts a 17-foot bronze statue of George Washington and an extensive collection of Washington artifacts. The Memorial is open from 9-5 every day; admission is $15.
Photo by Antonella Nicholas
Prince Street’s Cobblestones, also known as “Captain’s row,” date back to the 1700s.
Photo by Antonella Nicholas
A bronze sculpture of the Edmonson sisters, two former slaves, stands at 1707 Duke St., where former slave pens used to be. The Edmonson sisters were held in Joseph Bruin’s slave jail after they attempted to escape from Washington D.C in 1848 on the ship Pearl. The sisters were eventually bought and freed by their father, a free black man. The sculpture was erected by Erik Blome in 2010 and is a memorial to the Edmonson sisters and others who suffered at the slave jail.
Photo by Antonella Nicholas
The Alfred Street Baptist Church is home to the oldest African American congregation in Alexandria, dating back to the early 19th century. The present church was built in 1855, and underwent alterations in the 1880s. The church played a significant cultural, religious, and educational role in Alexandria’s free black community before the Civil War because it allowed members of the congregation to meet, exchange information, and develop leadership skills. In the 1820s, the Alfred Street Baptist Church Sunday School gave free blacks an opportunity to learn to read and write.
Photo by Antonella Nicholas
In December 1785, within the recently built Alexandria Academy, George Washington financed a school “for the purpose of educating orphan children.” In 1812, a “free colored school” was founded by a group of free African Americans in the space vacated by white students. Young Robert E. Lee attended another school in the Academy from 1818 to 1823. During the Civil War, the academy served as a freedman’s hospital. The academy is located on 600 Wolfe St.
