Table of Contents:

 Intro to National Parks 2

 The Road to Slavery 3

 Senses 4

 Scavenger Hunt 5

 Spot the Differences 6

 Value of a Slave 7

 Match the Tobacco 8

 The Road to Freedom 9

 Jack-O-Lantern Heritage Trail 10

 

 The Name Game 11

 Malden to Hampton Maze 12

 The Road to Education 13

 The Road to Tuskegee 14

 Plantation Animals 15

 The Road to Success 16 

 Crossword Puzzle 17

 Word Search 18

 Washington’s Story 19

 Junior Ranger Journal 20

 

1

Junior Ranger Program
 Since 1916, the National Park Service has been preserving and protecting our natural, historical, 

cultural, and recreational areas. The National Park Service uses the Arrowhead as the symbol to 

represent the plants, animals, waters, land formations, and the history of the National Park system. 

The Arrowhead looks like this:

 

 To make sure that the National Parks are around for future generations, the Park System has rules 

that protect the plants and wildlife on Park grounds. No plants can be picked and no wildlife can be 

harmed in a National Park. Why do you think this rule is important and do you think all Park visitor’s 

should follow it?

 In 1956, Booker T. Washington National Monument became a part of the National Park System 

to protect and preserve the birthplace of the successful leader.

To earn a Junior Ranger Badge from the Booker T. Washington National Monument complete 

all the activity pages with the Junior Ranger patch on them. When you’ve finished exploring the 

Monument and all of the selected activities, take your book to the visitor center. A ranger will review 

your completed activities and a badge will be awarded to you.

There are over 390 parks in the National Park System, out of all of 

these, how many have you visited?

2

National Parks
The Road to Slavery

 “I was born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia,” was the first sentence of Booker 

T. Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery. As a young boy, Washington lived in a small log 

cabin along with his mother, Jane, and his brother and younger sister, John and Amanda. The family 

slept on top of filthy rags on the bare, dirt floor and rarely had good meals to eat. Young Booker and 

his family worked with six other slaves on the Burroughs plantation in the 1800’s and none of the ten 

slaves were allowed to go to school. Because he was not allowed to go, Booker could only watch as his 

young mistresses and her classmates went to school.

 

 

 

 Look at the cover of this book. In one corner you’ll see young Booker as a slave standing not far 

from the kitchen cabin on the plantation. On the other corner, you’ll see an older Booker during his 

time at Hampton Institute. You’ll also see the two pictures of Booker as an adult: one as an orator 

and one as a founder of Tuskegee Institute. The boy who was once not allowed to go to school or 

even read worked hard to become the founder of his own school. To learn about the road Booker 

T. Washington traveled to move up from slavery, tour his birthplace monument and complete the 

activities in this book.

3
 Senses 

 While exploring the birthplace of Booker T. Washington, use four of your five senses to get 

an understanding of the park as if you were on the plantation in the 1800’s. Circle each item as 

you tour the monument grounds and try to experience at least three in each list.

SEE:

 Tobacco Field

 Farm animals

 Big House Outline

 Spring Box

 James and Billy Burroughs’ Graves

HEAR:

Spirituals (Visitor Center Touch Screen)

Farm Bell Ring

A Bird Singing

Ducks/Rooster

Rustling Leaves

FEEL:

A Flax Shirt

Wooden Shoes

A Chestnut Burr

A Drinking Gourd

A Feather

SMELL:

Tobacco Barn

The Smokehouse

The Pig Pens

A Flower in the Herb Garden

A Plant from the Vegetable Garden

4
Scavenger Hunt

Booker T. Washington, Age 9

 1. When was Booker T. Washington’s birthday?

 2. What was the cash crop on the Burroughs’ plantation?

 3. What is Washington’s middle name?

 4. How many floors were in the “Big House”?

 5. How many people slept in the kitchen cabin?

 6. How many kids did the Burroughs’ have?

 7. How many slaves were on this plantation?

 8. What is a slave?

 9. What job did Washington have to do while the Burroughs had dinner? 

10. How old was Washington when he was finally freed?

Booker T. Washington grew to be a well-known, educated man, 

but before he reached that success he was a slave as a young boy 

on the Burroughs’ plantation. To find out more about the man 

Washington became, answer these questions about his early life 

on the plantation. ( Ask a park ranger for help if needed).

5
Spot the Differences

 Take the Plantation Trail to the Kitchen Cabin. In the spring of 1856, Booker T. Washington was 

born in a cabin similar to this one on the tobacco farm belonging to James and Elizabeth Burroughs. 

His mother, Jane, was the plantation cook and she took care of Booker and his brother John and 

his sister Amanda. Booker’s father, who was not a part of the family’s life, was thought to have been 

a local white man.

 

 Look at this picture of the kitchen cabin while standing in the reconstructed cabin. Do you see 

anything different between the two? If so, circle all ten differences and things that don’t belong.

6
Value of a Slave

 Slaves were individuals who were the property of others. They could be bought and sold to be used 

for labor on farms, plantations, and in the homes of those who could afford them. Slaves were rarely 

able to remain with their families, so Booker was fortunate enough to have his family with him on the 

Burroughs farm. Although slaves weren’t always treated too well and even though they had poor living 

conditions, they were very valuable to those who owned them. In 1861, when James Burroughs died 

from lung disease, an inventory was taken of his belongings. Booker, his family, and the other slaves 

that belonged to Burroughs were counted and valued at half of the man’s wealth.

 Below is a list of all the slaves that James Burroughs owned and what they were valued at. You may 

see that some of the values are not listed. To find out what each of the slaves were worth, use the 

information given to answer the questions to find out the missing values.

1 Negro Man (Monroe) 600.00

1 Negro Woman (Sophia) 250.00

1 Negro Woman (Jane) 

1 Negro Man (Lee) 1000.00

1 Negro Boy (Green) 800.00

1 Negro Girl (Mary Jane) 800.00

1 Negro Girl (Sally) 700.00

1 Negro Boy (John) 

1 Negro Boy (Booker) 

1 Negro Girl (Amanda) 

If Jane (Booker’s mother) was worth the same 

amount as Sophia, what was her value?

If John (Booker’s brother) was worth 280.00 

more than Jane, what was his value? 

If Amanda (Booker’s sister) was worth 330.00 

less than John, what was her value? 

If Booker was 150.00 more than Jane, 130.00 

less than John, and 200.00 more than Amanda, 

what was his value? 

7
Match the Tobacco

 Go to the Tobacco Barn. To begin to cure tobacco leaves grown in the 

fields not far from the barn, the plants would’ve been split and hung upside 

down on laths (five foot long sticks made of oak) inside the tobacco barn. 

This was done carefully to make sure the valuable leaves were not damaged in 

any way. The plants were then cured for days over fires created on the barn’s 

dirt floor. After a season of curing, the leaves were then taken to a tobacco 

factory where slaves were hired to stem, cut, and shape the tobacco.

8

 There are many stages to growing and curing tobacco, including the plant sprouting green leaves, 

the forming of seeds in the small flowers at the top of the plant, and the dried cured leaves. Below are 

pictures of different stages of the tobacco plant. One of these four plants do not belong. See if you can 

match these plants with their shadows and then circle the plant that does not belong.
 When Booker was about five years old, the United States of America began the Civil War, a fight 

between the Union and the Confederacy. In 1865, four years after the war started, the Union won 

and word began to spread through the slave grapevine that freedom might soon come. Booker, his 

family, and the other slaves on the Burroughs farm gathered in front of the “Big House” and saw a 

stranger in a blue uniform. This man began to read a long piece of paper, which Booker thought was 

the Emancipation Proclamation. The man in the blue uniform told the slaves that they were free.

 Not long after being declared free, Booker’s family left the plantation and joined Booker’s stepfather in Malden, West Virginia. Once there, Booker, his brother, and his stepfather would wake up 

early in the morning to work as salt-miners. Even though Booker was free, there was one more thing 

he still wanted: an education.

If you were given the choice, would you rather have a job and work most of the day or go to school 

and learn?

Do you feel that children should work or do you think they should be able to learn in schools 

instead?

Why is education important?

9

The Road to Freedom 
J.O.L.B. Heritage Trail

 Go to the Jack-O-Lantern Branch Trail. When Booker and his family 

were freed they had to walk all the way from Franklin County, Virginia 

to Malden, West Virginia. During this journey, Booker remembers when 

the family tried to sleep one night in an old abandoned house but had to 

leave when they found a black snake living there. While at the national 

monument for Booker T. Washington, walk the Jack-O-Lantern Branch 

Heritage Trail and list all the animals you see on the trail. Out of all the 

animals you see, pick the one you liked the most and draw a picture of it 

here:

 Once you’ve finished walking the trail, think about this: The walk from the Burroughs Plantation to 

Malden is about 203 miles. That means that if you walked the entire Jack-O-Lantern Trail 135 times 

then that would equal the distance Booker and his family walked to get to Malden.

10
The Name Game

 Young Booker was kept busy working with his brother and step-father in a salt-furnace but he still 

wanted to learn to read. So, knowing that her son deserved a chance at education, Booker’s mother 

managed to get him a copy of Webster’s “blue-back” spelling book. Not long after this, the young boy 

was allowed to go to a schoolhouse during the day when all his morning work was done, but then he 

had to return to work once his schooling was done for the day. Booker learned rather quickly that all 

of his classmates had two or three names while he was only known as Booker. So, when his teacher 

asked what his full name was the boy told him “Booker Washington”. The “T” in his name was for 

Taliaferro, the name his mother would’ve given as his last name. Booker took this name as his middle 

and declared himself “Booker Taliaferro Washington”.

 Now that you know how Washington got his name, think of where your name came from and what 

it means. If you were able to choose your name, would you change it or keep it the same and why?

The Webster “blue-back” book is what Washington used to help him learn 

the alphabet. To see what your name would look like according to the 

Webster’s pronunciation chart, use the key below and then re-write your 

name. (example: Booker would become “Beookaear”).

 

 A=a B=be C=ce D=de E=e F=ef G=je H=aytch I=i J=ja K=ka L=el M=em N=en

 O=o P=pe Q=cu R=ar S=es T=te U=u V=Ve W=oo X=eks Y=wi Z=ze 

11
Malden to Hampton

 While working in a coal-mine in Malden, Washington heard of a great school in Virginia for 

blacks where the students worked to pay for their schooling. With the knowledge that this place existed, he decided that he wanted to go there and wished that he could be able to.

 To figure out what Washington experienced in order to make it to the school in Virginia (Hampton 

Institute) find your way through the maze.

12

Continued to 

work in the 

coal mines

Began to work 

for Ms. Ruffner

START

Heard about 

Hampton 

while working 

in coal mines

Not allowed to 

stay at a hotel

Arrived in 

Richmond and 

slept under a 

sidewalk

Worked with a 

Captain to get 

money for food

Reaches Hampton and cleans the 

recitation-room FINISH

Accepted to 

Hampton
The Road to Education

 While attending Hampton Institute, Washington tells of the great people he met and worked with. 

Miss Mary F. Mackie, the head teacher of the school, admitted Washington after he had cleaned one 

of the rooms. Miss Mackie worked alongside Washington during some of the cleaning he did as a 

janitor to pay for his schooling. General Samuel F. Armstrong, founder of Hampton Institute, was a 

great influence on Washington’s life and his achievements long after Hampton.

 Use the secret code to find out what Booker T. Washington had to say about these people who 

helped him gain success. Use the special red letters to find the answer to the question that follows.

 “ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ E D U C A T I O N

 20 8 5 18 5 9 19 14 15

 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ C A N ___ ___ ___ F R O M 

 23 8 9 3 8 15 14 5 7 5 20

 B O O K S ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 

 1 14 4 3 15 19 20 12 25

 

 A P P A R A T U S ___ ___ ___ ___ I S ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

 20 8 1 20 5 17 21 1 12

 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ W H I C H ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

 20 15 20 8 1 20 3 1 14 2 5

 ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ F R O M C O N T A C T ___ ___ ___ ___

 7 15 20 20 5 14 23 9 20 8 

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ M E N ___ ___ ___ W O M E N”

 7 18 5 1 20 1 14 4 

A = 1 B = 2 C = 3 D = 4 E = 5 F = 6 G = 7 H = 8

I = 9 J = 10 K = 11 L = 12 M = 13 N = 14 O = 15 P = 16 

Q = 17 R = 18 S = 19 T = 20 U = 21 V = 22 W = 23 X = 24 

Y = 25 Z = 26

What did Washington return to Hampton in 1879 to become? 

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

13
The Road to Tuskegee

 Wanting to give an opportunity for blacks to gain a higher education, Booker T. Washington began 

working on building a school that would teach the value of working while allowing the chance to 

learn. Tuskegee Institute began to become a reality, but it was not easy to make it happen. Washington 

wanted the students of the school to build the buildings themselves, and if that didn’t seem hard 

enough they had to do it with little to no money and no bricks to build with.

 If you were able to create a school, what would you like the students to learn about and why would 

it be important to them?

 What would your school look like? Give your school a name and draw a picture of it here:

14
Plantation Animals

 Go to the Horse Barn/Duck lot area. Wanting the students of Tuskegee Institute to learn more 

than what can be found in books, Washington wanted them to build the buildings themselves to 

gain actual working skills. One of the biggest challenges that came with this task was trying to create 

bricks for building. After trying three times to make bricks and failing, Washington ran out of money 

to try a fourth time. So, to make sure his students had the money needed to make bricks to build the 

school Washington went to a local pawn shop and sold his watch. With the fifteen dollars he got for 

his watch, Booker and his students were able to create bricks on their fourth try.

 The bricks at Tuskegee not only provided materials for constructing school buildings, they could 

also be used for trading and selling in order for Washington and his students to get other items 

needed to continue building the Tuskegee Institute. Although Washington never made bricks before 

Tuskegee, he had seen animals being raised and cared for to be used for supplies and work needed on 

the Burroughs Plantation. Like the bricks, the animals on the Burroughs farm would’ve been used for 

more than one task or need.

 As you visit the animals on the farm, circle all the ones you see and then check each box that shows 

how the animals were used on the plantation.

Food Work Clothing

SHEEP

PIG

HORSE

CHICKEN

COW

15
The Road to Success

 Booker T. Washington was able to rise up from slavery to become one of 

the most influential American men in history. His strive for education and 

a better life have remained a strong part of the school he founded, Tuskegee 

Institute, and he was motivated to make something of himself. Booker T. 

Washington died in 1915 and was buried at Tuskegee. The statue, Lifting 

the Veil of Ignorance (which is pictured to the right), was created and placed 

at the institute in 1922 in honor of the successful man who had made the 

school possible.

 Using the key below, fill in the missing words to find out what Booker T. Washington had to say 

about success (the words in the key are not in the correct order):

 “I have that is to be not so much by the that 

one has in life, as by the which he has while trying to 

succeed.”

 Key: 1. position 2. success 3. learned 4. obstacles 5. overcome 6. measured 7. reached

 Using the key below, fill in the missing words to learn what Washington said at the Atlanta Address 

on September 18th, 1985 (the words in the key are not in the correct order) :

 “In all things social we can be as as the , yet one as the hand 

in all things to mutual .”

 Key: 1. separate 2. essential 3. purely 4. progress 5. fingers

 Using the key below, match the missing words with the numbers to find out another quote of 

Booker T. Washington’s: 

“Great men 4 love, and only little men 2 the 1 of 3 .”

Key: 1. spirit 2. cherish 3. hatred 4. cultivate

16
Crossword Puzzle

1 2

3 4

5 6

7

8

9

10 11 12

13

14

15 16

17 18

19

20

21

22

23

24

ACROSS

3 What is Booker’s middle name?

4 The ______ was also used as Booker’s cabin.

5 What was Booker’s mother’s name?

8 Booker was valued at ____ ____ dollars.

9 Growing tobacco was extremely ___ ___.

10 Who owned Booker?

13 What was the name of the school that Booker traveled to from Malden, WV?

14 Booker T. Washington was a _____ as a boy.

16 It was ______ for a slave to be taught how to read and write.

18 What was Booker’s mother’s job?

19 What was the name of the book Booker wrote about his life?

20 What was the major cash crop on the Burroughs farm?

22 Where was the meat stored?

23 A slave is a person that is also _____.

24. What was the name of the school Booker T. Washington started? 

DOWN

1 Booker T. Washington National Monument is a part of the ______ ________ 

system.

2 What was the name of the head teacher at Hampton Institute?

6 The _____ won the Civil war.

7 Booker felt that if he were given a chance to go to school it would be like going to 

_______.

11 People understood if the ________ won the Civil War slavery would continue

12 Who was the founder of Hampton Institute?

15 Booker remembered sleeping on a pile of rags laid upon a ____ _____.

17 Booker was born in the month of ______.

18 Tobacco is a _____ ______.

21 How many slaves did James Burroughs own?

17
Word Search

M N B E Y Z Y C S Q Q E Q U A L I T Y V N Z D E I

S E A W Y Y L A S B S W D M Q L D T O M W W C P Y

E Z X E L G G U R T S P L I O O I U A B A S F R F

K D H Y Z V H G I B W J P O I Q G N E M A L D E N

B P R C Q B G A X U V P H Q H V P Z L X S C Y K G

X N E W P X I K M X R C M V Y K W O Y E X G C O K

W F J Z P W O Y U U S R L E J H C W C X F U W O J

S B D M Q Z B M X L L R Y M Z D Q N C Z Y R Q B V

U H K F F A X M B P G A A R O L E B H Q W S R Z X

B X O L E A D E R W D Q T T J I P D E K W X D G F

R H E D U C A T O R R U B T T S D P I N W O F I J

N B U M K A A U F S B T V A O I P R D C E V S R Q

Y Q C W J H M M N U H C P W N A Y E Y E A V U I Q

T O G X D M E B V C V M D T Y N V S G W S T D M H

R H W S L Z D X Z C R E E P U G R E F N I S I H J

E F A M N P W X B E Y T Z V G A K R X N A C J O J

P F X R O L B M O S Y L B L A S Q V T D M C B J N

O J H A T F A Z X S P R B U U Z Y E P M B X T D E

R J X M P F B X A H C S B T Q R L R R T I T A F E

P X Q K M V U Q F G V U L X A L X A I F T V H N W

N B K O A O N E L M H K N A I T X N C L I G U V I

Y M T P H Q O F O S C Y Z G V U T C W V O E V O I

A R M D J K Y Z D V U S E Q F E Y E C A U F K O O

A A K M W S F J D Y N N V Z H E V F X Y S E S L A

R F L I B C S F V G T L W U T O E X E S W Z L U B

 

EQUALITY

FARM

HAMPTON

INTELLIGENT

LEADER

MALDEN

PATIENCE

PROPERTY

SCHOOL

SLAVE

STRUGGLE

SUCCESS

AMBITIOUS

BOOKER

DEDICATION

EDUCATOR

18
Washington’s Story

 As you read a summary of Booker T. Washington’s life, fill in the missing words using the word 

bank provided.

 On April 5th, 1856 Booker T. Washington was born into 

slavery on the Farm in Franklin County, Virginia. 

At age nine, Washington and his family were freed and they 

moved to join his stepfather in , West Virginia. 

In Malden, Washington and his brother, John, worked along 

side their stepfather in and even coal mines. 

A while after, Washington was allowed to go to school if he 

worked before and after each school day. As he worked in the 

coal mines, Washington heard of Institute and 

wanted to go. After being accepted to the school in Hampton, 

Virginia, Washington began working as a to pay 

for his room and board. During a summer break back with his 

family, Washington’s mother Jane died. Washington returned to 

school in Hampton where he had lessons in public . 

This would be a great help to him in his future. As he grew 

older, Washington returned to Hampton to . When 

a school was started for African-Americans in Tuskegee, he 

became a teacher there. Not longer after, the school in Tuskegee 

slowly began to grow and Washington married Fannie Smith and had a daughter, Portia Washington. 

Fannie passed away as Washington continued working on the growth of Institute. 

Washington married again to Olivia Davidson, assistant principle at the Tuskegee school, and they had 

two sons, Booker T. Washington Jr. (also called Baker) and Ernest Davidson Washington. Olivia too 

passed away. Several years later, Washington married Margaret James Murray, a principal of Tuskegee 

Institute. Two years later, on September 18th, 1895, Washington delivers . 

In the year 1900, Washington published his first autobiography, and a year later published Up From 

Slavery. The same year Washington dined at the White House with Theodore Roosevelt. In 

November of 1915, the successful founder, speaker, and leader passes away at his home in Tuskegee. 

He is buried at Tuskegee Institute.

Word Bank: Malden teach salt-mines President Burroughs 

 janitor The Atlanta Address Tuskegee speaking Hampton

19
Junior Ranger Journal

 Now that you have visited the Booker T. Washington National Monument, write down your 

thoughts on your visit and the things you liked most about the park:

 

 After visiting the birthplace of Washington and writing down all the things you liked, think about 

what it takes to keep the National Parks in good conditions for you and others to visit. Write down 

ways you think we can continue to preserve the National Parks and write down things you plan to do 

to make sure these Parks stay around for many, many more years:

 

20