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Blanche K. Bruce House

This National Historic Landmark commemorates the life of Blanche Kelso Bruce (1841-1898), the first black man to serve a full term as US senator (1875-1898). He was representing Mississippi. Blanche Bruce is significant to the Underground Railroad because he was born enslaved on March 1, 1854, near Farmville, in Prince Edward County, Virginia, and escaped from slavery in Missouri to freedom in Kansas during the Civil War. Like Frederick Douglass (his friend), Bruce showed the public distinction a formerly enslaved person could attain, given educational, economic, and political opportunities. This house in Washington, D.C., is where he lived after the Civil War while serving in the Senate.

Visitor Information: Currently not open to public.

Location: 909 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., N/A, 20009

National Park Unit: No

Ownership: Bruce Mulno

Location Type: Site