2
1 ARLINGTON HOUSE, THE
ROBERT E. LEE MEMORIAL
Arlington, Virginia
703-235-1530; nps.gov/arho
While Arlington House was the home of
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who fled the
house when he joined the Confederate Army
at the onset of the Civil War, it has recently
undergone a multimillion-dollar restoration
to provide a new narrative showcasing the
lives of the more than 100 enslaved individuals
who built the plantation house and lived and
worked here. The interpretive exhibits don’t
shy away from challenging questions, leaving
much to discuss later at the family dinner table.

Two surviving quarters of enslaved people
Harriet Tubman
are out back. Several artifacts of African
American history are on display for the first
time, including the bust of James Parks, who
toiled on the plantation until 1861. He’s the
only person born on the property who is
buried at the cemetery. Exhibits, including
family photos, letters and books, relate to the
Syphaxes, Norrises and other enslaved families.

As of press time, no tickets are needed to
enter the plantation house, enslaved quarters
or museum. All are free and open daily from
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Parking for Arlington
House is available at the Arlington National
Cemetery Visitor Center.

20 Washington FAMILY FEBRUARY 2022
NPS.GOV/ARTICLES/AMERICAN-LIBERTY-AND-SLAVERY-IN-THE-CHESAPEAKE.HTM Gray family quarters
Eastern Shore, Maryland
harriettubmanbyway.org, nps.gov/hatu,
adkinsarboretum.org After escaping to freedom from the Maryland
Eastern Shore plantation where she was
born, legendary freedom fighter Harriet
Tubman—who celebrates her 200th birthday
this year—risked her life time and again to
return, freeing dozens of enslaved people
along the Underground Railroad. Many of
the sites relating to this daring history remain
throughout the Eastern Shore, and they have
been linked on a 125-mile route from Cambridge
to the Delaware border—a fun family outing
with plenty to think about along the way.

Visit Church Creek, Maryland, site of the
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor
Center (stop 13), where kids can see where
Tubman lived and worked and learn about her
life through multimedia exhibits. Walking trails
and a memorial garden are also there. Another
important site is Bucktown General Store (stop
17), where young Harriet received a near-death
blow in the head when she defied authority
to protect an enslaved boy. At the Adkins
Arboretum (stop 34), trails wander through
woodland and marshland very much resembling
the terrain through which Tubman journeyed.

Illustration of Charles Ball,
slave and sailor, War of 1812
COURTESY OF HARRIETTUBMANBYWAY.ORG
COURTESY OF ARLINGTON HOUSE
James Parks bust
HARRIET TUBMAN
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
BYWAY 3
JEFFERSON PATTERSON
PARK & MUSEUM
10515 Mackall Road
St. Leonard, MD 20685
410-586-8501; jefpat.maryland.gov
The Battle of St. Leonard Creek unfolded during
the War of 1812 on these present-day parklands
overlooking the Patuxent River. Families can
listen to the various tales via cell phone (call
410-246-1966) and read interpretive markers
along the 1.8-mile “War of 1812” driving and
walking trail. Different perspectives are
shared, including that of Charles Ball, an
enslaved man who had fled north to freedom.

During the war, he enlisted under Commodore
Joshua Barney as a free man, serving as a
seaman and cook for the Chesapeake flotilla.

Be sure to ask at the visitor center for access
to the War of 1812 exhibit in the Exhibit Barn.

The park also has miles of trails along
St. Leonard Creek (where the War of 1812
battle occurred) and woodlands, and through
the former lands of a Woodland Indian village.

The park and grounds are open daily from
7:30 a.m. to dusk; admission is free.




6
LAUREL GROVE
SCHOOL MUSEUM
1830s slave cabin
5 COURTESY OF LAURELGROVESCHOOL.ORG
Laurel Grove School
SOTTERLEY PLANTATION
COURTESY SOTTERLEY.ORG
6840 Beulah St.

Alexandria, VA 22310
703-313-4690; laurelgroveschool.org
Kids may take a different stance toward
school after visiting this 19th-century, one-
room schoolhouse built by the first generation
of African Americans born to freedom in
Fairfax County to educate their community’s
children. The schoolhouse is now a living
museum, where intriguing insights come
to light. Some kids had to walk up to
5 miles to attend this school, where students
shared books and desks, studied geography
without maps and helped cook meals with Sotterley Plantation
items brought from their home gardens.

Special programs include pictorial history
exhibits, talks by history makers, children’s
story hour and other topics that bring to life
the school’s history. Visitation is currently by
appointment only.

44300 Sotterley Lane
Hollywood, MD 20636
301-373-2280; sotterley.org
For centuries, enslaved people worked this
18th-century tobacco plantation overlooking
the Patuxent River in Southern Maryland,
at a site where many captured Africans first
stepped ashore in America. This history is today
recounted through a restored one-room, pine-
log cabin from 1830, where a dozen or so people
lived. Kids can duck their head to enter the low
doorway and take in the dirt floor, simple pallet
bed, and low stairs leading to an attic space.

Throughout February, Sotterley celebrates
the life and legacy of Dr. Agnes Kane Callum,
a historian and genealogist whose ancestors
were enslaved at Sotterley during the 19th
century. The grounds are open year-round,
and the tour season runs May through October
(Friday-Sunday). Call 301-373-2280 to reserve
a tour time; tickets are $10 for adults, $6 youth
(6-18), and children younger than 6 are free.

SULLY HISTORIC SITE
3650 Historic Sully Way
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-437-1794; fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully
Northern Virginia’s first Congressman,
Richard Bland Lee, built Sully Plantation,
where enslaved people cultivated wheat,
corn and rye. Today, thanks to archaeological
evidence (such as squirrel and herring
bones, broken pottery and coins), record-
keeping and letters, researchers found a
slave quarter. A slave cabin was built in
2000 to represent the enslaved community.

Today, we know about Thornton, who
cooked in the kitchen; Madam Juba, who
laundered the clothes; Sam, who worked as
a blacksmith and many others whose stories
need to be shared. All this history can be
discovered by visiting the site and taking a tour
of the house and an outdoor walking tour—the
Forgotten Road Tour.

Several special events will take place this
February, including a free virtual lecture on
Saturday, Feb. 5, by Dr. Richard Bell on the
“Fire of Frederick Douglass” and a “lunch
and learn” on Saturday, Feb. 17, a chance to
learn about Sully’s enslaved people.

February tours, available Thursday through
Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., will focus
on the work and lives of Sully’s enslaved
people. The grounds are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

daily, and the visitor center is open 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The fee for the
house tour and Forgotten Road tour is $10 for
adults and $8 for children (5-15); the grounds,
outbuildings and garden are free. n
COURTESY SULLY HISTORIC SITE
4 Slave quarters
WashingtonFAMILY.com 21