House Tour

Welcome to Cedar Hill. This house was constructed between 1855 and 1859 by John Van Hook and associates. Frederick Douglass bought it in 1877 for $6,700.00. Douglass added onto to the home to include 14 rooms. He purchased surrounding land and expanded the property to 14 acres. Douglass resided at Cedar Hill until his death in 1895.

When Douglass was in his early 20's, living in Baltimore and was still a slave, he remarked to a gathering of free blacks that one day he would be a U.S. Senator. While Douglass never became a senator, Cedar Hill allows us to connect with the remarkable man that Douglass became.

The house, furnishings and personal belongings tell many stories: Douglass family man, author, orator, and public figure; Douglass's interest in literature, games, music, health, learning, travel; and of the people in Douglass's life like Abraham Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and John Brown. These stories paint a vivid and insightful picture of Frederick Douglass. We invite you in to meet Mr. Douglass and his family.