Hiding in plain sight: slavery and historic houses

Much research on the history of slavery in the United States has focused on southern plantations, where the vast majority of enslaved Africans toiled, and the slave trade itself, with large slave markets in Richmond, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina, among others. But many 18th- and early 19th-century households across the original 13 states often used slaves as household staff. This researcher focused on historic Dumbarton House in Washington, DC's Georgetown neighborhood to reveal these "hidden figures."

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The Hidden Figures of Dumbarton House: slavery and servitude within the Nourse household

By Christopher Celauro

Dumbarton House Blog

Accessed April 6, 2017