A Carefully Crafted Image

Historical marker location:

1850 W Basin Dr SW, West Potomac Park, District of Columbia

( Marker is on Ohio Drive Southwest south of West Basin Drive Southwest, on the right when traveling north.)

Marker installed: 2022

Prologue. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

The District was a major center of the slave trade in the 19th century: Prior to the Civil War, Washington, D.C. was home to one of the largest slave markets in the country. Slaves were bought and sold in public auctions held in the city, and many prominent politicians and businessmen owned slaves.