Block of Aquia Creek sandstone removed from the East Front of US Capitol
date: label: Date
content: 1824-1826
name: label: Commissioned by
content: Architect of the Capitol, American, founded 1793
notes: label: Caption
content: 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.
label: Caption
content: Source: Nancy Bercaw, Curator, Slavery and Freedom
label: Description
content: 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.
place: label: Place used
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
label: Place collected
content: Aquia Creek, Stafford County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Architecture
label: Topic
content: Building Arts
label: Topic
content: Government
label: Topic
content: Labor
label: Topic
content: Local and regional
label: Topic
content: Skilled labor
label: Topic
content: Slave hire system
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1815-1861
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Buildings and Structures
label: Exhibition
content: Slavery and Freedom
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Concourse 3, C3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2013.182
objectType: label: Type
content: blocks (shaped masses)
label: Type
content: structural elements and structural element components
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: sandstone
label: Dimensions
content: Overall with Weight: 15 3/4 × 21 1/4 × 14 1/2 in., 318 lb. (40 × 54 × 36.8 cm, 144.2 kg)