Making the Memorial

Historical marker location:

Theodore Roosevelt Island, District of Columbia

Marker installed: 2018

Theodore Roosevelt Island, George Washington Memorial Parkway. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

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.