Your visit brings you to 1315 Duke Street, where Isaac Franklin and John Armfield once ran the largest slave-trading firm in the nation. Built around 1810–1820 as a private residence by Robert Young, a brigadier general, this building was later converted to the offices of the largest slave trading firm in the United States, started in 1828 by Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. Ship manifests preserved in the National Archives tell us that at least 5,000 enslaved people were trafficked through this office.
Over the years the exterior was altered — renovated in a vernacular Empire style when the building was subdivided into apartments — and in 2025 it was restored to its original Federal appearance. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978 and is also a Virginia Historic Landmark. It was formerly owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League, which used it for offices and a museum, and the City of Alexandria purchased the property in March 2020, reopening it as a museum in June 2022.
Picture the ship manifests in the National Archives, recording that at least five thousand enslaved people were once trafficked through these restored walls.