Bruin's Slave Jail is a two-story brick building in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, from which slave trader

Joseph Bruin Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

imprisoned

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Bruin's company, called Bruin and Hill, transported enslaved Americans of African descent to slave markets in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. At the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Bruin was captured and imprisoned in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His property, including the slave jail, was confiscated by U.S. Marshals and used as the Fairfax County Courthouse until 1865. All that remains today of the entire compound is a two-story brick structure that housed the enslaved people. Bruin's home, kitchen, and wash-house no longer remain.

References

External links

Joseph Bruin and the Slave Trade, Official 2007 Historic Redevelopment ReportInformation on Bruin's Slave Jail from Virginia African Heritage ProgramArchaeology: Digging up History at the Bruin Slave Jail
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Alexandria, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia History of slavery in Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1819 Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia Jails on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Slave jails in the United States Jails in Virginia {{AlexandriaVA-NRHP-stub

See also

References

External links