Carter G. Woodson Home

The Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site commemorates the life and work of Carter Godwin Woodson (1875–1950), an African-American historian, author and journalist who played a pivotal role in the development of Black history as a field of study. Born in Virginia to freed slaves, he worked as a coal miner and experienced firsthand the difficulties that African Americans faced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He went on to college and eventually became the first professionally trained African American historian, graduating from Harvard with a PhD in 1912. Woodson settled in Washington, D.C. in this Victorian rowhouse in 1922, became the Dean of Howard University, and wrote more than 25 books. In 1926, he launched Negro History Week, which eventually evolved into Black History Month. Today, the Carter G. Woodson Home pays tribute to his legacy by preserving his home and providing educational programming about his life and work.