Block of Aquia Creek sandstone removed from the East Front of US Capitol

Object Details

Caption: Enslaved African Americans, leased out by their slave owners, mined sandstone from local quarries and built the United States Capitol, the White House, and the Smithsonian Castle. Congress, the institution that guarded the peoples’ freedom, held sessions in a building constructed by forced labor, and the legislators would have witnessed lines of shackled slaves marching by daily en route to the Deep South. The block was quarried near Aquia Creek, Virginia, by free and enslaved workers and used in the construction of the Capitol building in 1824.; Source: Nancy Bercaw, Curator, Slavery and Freedom
Description: A rectangular block of sandstone. One short side of the block has a smooth, finished surface. The other five sides are rough-hewn and pitted, showing evidence of quarry tool markings, softened by weathering. One of the long sides has mechanical tool markings across the surface, forming a cross-hatch pattern. The block predominantly is beige, with reddish-brown veins of color running lengthwise. The smooth side shows most clearly the variegation of reddish-brown strata. There is a loss at the lower-left corner of the smooth side.

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

1824-1826

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions; Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

Type: blocks (shaped masses); structural elements and structural element components

Medium: sandstone
Dimensions: Overall with Weight: 15 3/4 × 21 1/4 × 14 1/2 in., 318 lb. (40 × 54 × 36.8 cm, 144.2 kg)

Place used: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Place collected: Aquia Creek, Stafford County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Slavery and Freedom Objects; Buildings and Structures
Exhibition: Slavery and Freedom
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic: African American; Architecture; Building Arts; Government; Labor; Local and regional; Skilled labor; Slave hire system; U.S. History, 1815-1861

GUID (Link to Original Record): http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd591da1639-8f87-43bb-9128-5c8ee6561cac