Frederick Douglass in Carlisle
Walking Tour Stop 4
Frederick Douglass, born into slavery in 1818 and self-taught, became an internationally-renowned reformer and a leading voice in the fight against slavery. Douglass is known to have visited Carlisle on three occasions, although his first visit in August 1847 was limited to a brief stop at the train station where he met with representatives of Carlisle's antislavery society.
On March 2, 1872, Douglass again visited Carlisle, delivering a lecture in Rheem's Hall (located behind the old Court House at the junction of Court House and Church Avenues). During his lecture, Douglass stated that “...here a man is denied certain privileges because of his color.” It was later discovered that the owner of the Bentz House, the hotel in which Douglass had stayed, denied him admission to the dining room because of his race. The Carlisle Herald supported Douglass, calling such prejudicial actions “simply silly and wicked.” In 1900, the building, formerly the Bentz House, was established as a fine hotel under its better known name, the Wellington.
Frederick Douglass was to make one more visit to Carlisle. On April 7, 1893, he spoke on the subject of “Self-Made Men” at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. During the course of his lecture, he told the crowd, “Usually I am Negro, but tonight I am Indian out and out.”
Douglas died in Washington, D.C., on February 20, 1895.
Marker is on High Street (Pennsylvania Route 74), on the left when traveling east.
Courtesy hmdb.org
