Freedman's Village Diaspora Tour
Experience the migration of Freedman's Village residents as they moved to other communities as their neighborhood was closed and structural discrimination kept them from buying in most Arlington neighborhoods
A Natural Add-On to Arlington National Cemetery Tours
Every day, motorcoaches deliver thousands of visitors to Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) — steps from the very ground where Freedman's Village once stood. This 13-stop narrated route extends that visit into the story ANC alone cannot tell: the community where over 3,000 formerly enslaved men and women built a life, churches, a school, and a neighborhood on this land, and whose impact still shapes Arlington today.
In 1863, as the Civil War raged across Virginia, the federal government created something unprecedented on the hills overlooking Washington, D.C. On land that had once been Robert E. Lee’s Arlington House plantation, they established Freedman’s Village, a contraband camp for formerly enslaved people that would become America’s first pre-planned black community.
What began as a wartime necessity evolved into something far more significant: a model for African American community development that would shape Arlington County, Virginia for generations to come and long after it's destruction by the federal government in 1900 when it was finally closed.
Freedman’s Village residents weren’t passive recipients of government aid. They were active community builders who established institutions, created businesses, were elected to powerful positions in goverment, and laid the groundwork for lasting African American communities in northern Virginia.
Their accomplishments in becoming leaders in Arlington are remarkable.
Wilma at the intersection of Clayton Drive & Grant Avenue in ANC where Freedman's Village once stood.
Partner with ABHE
Info@ArlingtonBlackHeritageExperiences.com
© 2026. All rights reserved.
Buy the books
Code of Conduct
Review the ABHE Code of Conduct applicable for guests and organizations for ALL experiences.
Operational Standards
ABHE meets the operational standards required by DMCs, luxury tour organizations, corporate incentive and procurement teams. We carry $1,000,000 in general liability coverage and maintain absolute client privacy - no guest photography, no social media, and no disclosure of client or attendee information. Certificates of insurance available upon request.
