74. Rediscovering the African American and Quaker Cemeteries in ADMO

Rediscovering the African American and Quaker Cemeteries in the Heart of Adams Morgan

Tour description:

How were Washington's busiest Reconstruction-era Black cemetery and its only Quaker burial ground nearly lost to time? Walk through Walter Pierce Park in Adams Morgan and learn how grassroots activism spurred a 21-year project to document, protect and commemorate Mt. Pleasant Plains Cemetery, where more than 8,400 African American Washingtonians were buried following the Civil War, and the much smaller, much older Friends Burying Ground. Find out what the archaeology revealed about these invisible cemeteries. Learn about the cemeteries' connection to heroic men and women of the Underground Railroad. Finally, see the names of the buried at the Ancestors Pavilion, which descendants and their allies persuaded the city to create in 2024.

Tour Guide: Mary Belcher; Founding member of the grassroots Walter Pierce Park Archaeology and Commemoration Project

Ward: -1

TOUR INFORMATION:

Tour Starting Location:

Adams Morgan Community Kiosk

18 Street and Columbia Road, NW, Washington, DC 20009

Meet at the kiosk next to Truist Bank.

· Closest Metro or Bus Line: The closest Metrorail stop is the Red Line's Woodley Park, Adams Morgan, National Zoo station. Several buses stop at or near the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road: C53, C51, D72, and D74.

· Tour Ending Location: 2630 Adams Mill Road, NW

· Tour Length: 1 hour

· Tour Distance: 1.5 miles

· Fitness Level: Low Level (slow walking, flat terrain)

· Audio Enhancer: Yes

· ASL: No

· Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

· Stroller Accessible: Yes