Frederick Douglass's Hamilton House

This is the only surviving house that Frederick Douglass lived in. The house was purchased by Douglass in 1855. Douglass then deeded the property to his daughter from 1872-1876. He took back ownership of the house in 1877 and held the property until his death in 1895. The landmark is important to Douglass because even after he moved to Washington, D.C. he still returned back to that house. This was because residents of the nation's capital could not vote in any federal elections at that time. Since Douglass had rightfully earned his right to vote, he did not want that freedom taken away from him. This entry is part of a public history project developed by the RIT Museum Studies program in celebration of the bicentennial of Frederick Douglass’s birth (February 1818).