Slave Trading in Louisville

Historical marker location:

Louisville, Kentucky

( S.E. corner of 2nd & Main, Louisville)

By the 1850s, Kentucky was annually exporting between 2500 and 4000 of its slaves down river to the large plantations farther south. To prevent runaways, traders operating near the Ohio River kept slaves shackled together in pens when not being displayed to buyers. Slave traders were often social outcasts avoided by all but fellow traders.

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Garrison Slave Pen Site - Matthew Garrison was a well known Kentucky slave speculator in the Deep South. A white abolitionist leader, Rev. Calvin Fairbank, wrote in 1851 that four slave markets, including Garrison's and Arterburn's, sold men, women, and children "like sheep." Slavery abolished by 13th Amendment, 1865. Presented by Louisville and Jefferson County African American Heritage Committee, Inc. Dedicated Feb. 22, 1998.

African American Slavery