Freedman's Village

Freedman's Village Image courtesy of Arlington County Public Library Archives

Abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia in 1862 led many former and escaped slaves to Washington seeking shelter and employment. To manage this surge in population, the Quartermaster of the Washington Military District recommended resettlement of former slaves in the “pure county air” of the Arlington Plantation in May 1863. Freedman’s Village was formally opened on December 4, 1863 and was located on the southernmost part of today’s Arlington National Cemetery. Freedman’s Village provided shelter, clothing, food, medical care – including a hospital – schools and training in employable skills to former slaves. A school was opened with 150 students, and grew to 900, both children and adults. In the village’s industrial school, residents gained employable skills apprenticing as blacksmiths, wheelwrights, carpenters and tailors. Freedman’s Village remained open under the supervision of the War Department until 1888, when it closed.

Arlington's African American Neighborhoods

Map of Freedman's Village Image courtesy of National Archives

Freedman’s Village survived long after the Civil War, thriving for 37 years and sowing the seeds of Arlington’s African American community. Arlington’s Mount Zion and Mount Olive Baptist churches both descended from the village’s Old Bell Church. Residents of Freedman’s Village gained political influence in the 1870s, enabling villagers to elect officials who went on to become some of Arlington’s most prominent leaders. After 25 years of existence, the village was closed in 1888, and the land returned to military control. Former Freedman Village residents who remained in the area established such continuing neighborhoods as Arlington View, Butler-Holmes, Halls’s Hill and Nauck.