Henry Box Brown Birthplace Historical Marker

The tour of Henry "Box" Brown's path to freedom starts at the location dedicated to his early life. This historical marker commemorates the life of Henry Brown, an enslaved Virginia man who famously escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by being shipped in a wooden crate to abolitionists in Philadelphia in 1849. This tour starts at his birthplace. Brown was born here on or around 1815 at the Hermitage Tobacco Plantation, located two miles from Cuckoo, VA, in Louisa County. This plantation was where Brown spent his early life. Around 1829, the plantation owner died, and Brown’s family was divided among several other slave owners. Henry Brown was sent to Richmond at that time, where he was enslaved by the plantation owner’s son at his tobacco factory until he escaped from bondage with the assistance of abolitionists.

Hermitage plantation was owned by John Barret. Barret had been a long-time merchant in the City of Richmond. Barret had also served as Mayor of Richmond from 1798-1799. At that time mayoral terms were only one year and were not elected positions. Following his term as mayor, Barret moved to Louisa, VA where he and his wife raised four sons and one daughter. The Hermitage was a popular name among plantations of its time. Very little information is available with specifics on the Hermitage in Louisa Virginia, however, additional slave records are available in archives at The Library of Virginia in Richmond.

While the exact date of Henry's birth is not known, but records indicate that he was born on the plantation around the years of 1815-1816. Henry "Box" Brown grew up on the plantation with both parents (names are unknown), three brothers and four sisters. Henry recounts his childhood on the plantation as being one of "relative ease". In his own narrative he reports that he was religious from an early age and that his mother instilled Christian values in him. His parents worked on the plantation, most likely picking tobacco. The child likely participated in this task as well when they were old enough to do so. While Henry did not report experiencing physical violence under slavery, as an adult he found the system of slavery to be unbearable even in the best of conditions. In 1830, after the death John Barret, he was bequeathed to his mater's son who separated his parents and siblings. Later, this same son would also separate Henry from his wife and children and set in motion his determination to find a path to freedom at all costs. The site of the former Hermitage Plantation is located a short distance from this historical marker, which was placed here on the highway for accessibility. The main plantation house is now a private residence and not open to the public. More information about the plantation and house is available at the Louisa County Historical Society, 214 Fredericksburg Ave, Louisa, VA.  

After Brown's grueling twenty-seven hour and two hundred and fifty mild trip to get to a free state, Henry eventually would move to the countries of England and then Canada. During his time in England he would document his life in a book titled, "The Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown" written by himself was published in 1851 in Manchester, England. The introduction of the book contains a self written poem:

Forget not the unhappy,

Though sorrow may annoy,

There's something then for memory,

Hereafter to enjoy!

Oh! Still from fortune's garland,

Some flowers for others strew;

And forget not the unhappy,

For, ah! their friends are few.

The journey of Henry "Box" Brown was also documented in a biography written by Jeffrey Ruggles in 2003, called The Unboxing of Henry Brown. Additionally, the story is also available on the website noted in the relevant link section below. It is a GoogleEarth tour complete with historical map overlays, supporting text, images and even an interactive timeline.

LouisaCountyHistoricalSociety.org. Piedmont Virginia Digital History: Accessed March 2nd, 2024. https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f75c2fe18cd73bb6JmltdHM9MTcxMTc1NjgwMCZpZ3VpZD0wNWVjYmUyZS04YzhiLTY0OTYtMWM4Ny1hYTIzOGQyMzY1YWImaW5zaWQ9NTIwNA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=05ecbe2e-8c8b-6496-1c87-aa238d2365ab&psq=the+land+between+the+rivers+piedmont&u=a1aHR0cDovL3BpZWRtb250dmFoaXN0b3J5LmxvdWlzYWNvdW50eWhpc3RvcmljYWxzb2NpZXR5Lm9yZy9hcmNoaXZlczE0L2Fib3V0&ntb=1.

The Central Virginian. Box Brown Honored With Historical Marker In Cuckoo, May 9th, 2012. Accessed March 28th, 2024. https://www.thecentralvirginian.com/entertainment/local/box-brown-honored-with-highway-historical-marker-in-cuckoo/article_1e374bd7-3293-5c80-b29a-7355067f0b34.html.

https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brownbox/brownbox.html. Accessed March 28, 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Box_Brown. Accessed March 28, 2024.

Brown, Henry. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown. Manchester, England. Lee and Glynn, 1851.

Ruggles, Jeffrey. The Unboxing of Henry Brown. Richmond, Virginia. Library of Virgnia, 2003.

The Journey of Henry “Box” Brown TEACHER’S GUIDE, Dickinson.edu

List of mayors of Richmond, Virginia - Wikipedia.com. Accessed 4/7/2024.

https://reaserchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/22. Accessed 4/7/2024.