Frederick Douglass Monument - Rochester, NY
Posted by: 
MrsMcFly
N 43° 07.950 W 077° 36.562
18T E 287767 N 4778834
This monument to Fredrick Douglass is located in Highland Park, Rochester, NY
Waymark Code: WM4P2H
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 09/14/2008
Views: 22
From the Rochester, Monroe County American Guide:
At Central Ave. and St. Paul St., unveiled in 1899, was dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt, then Governor of New York State. The statue, of bronze on a granite pedestal, designed by Sidney W. Edwards, is inscribed with quotations from speeches of Mr. Douglass.
Frederick Douglass (1807-1895) was born a slave in Easton, Md. Having run away from his master in 1838, he took up residence in New Bedford, Mass. In 1841 he began to lecture against slavery and became famous as an orator. In 1848 he published a newspapaer, The North Star, in Rochester. At the outbreak of the Civil War he urged the employment of colored troops and helped organize them. He was an active agent of the Underground Railroad and his home, still standing on Alexander Street, was a refuge and way-station for runaway slaves seeking safety and freedom in Canada. During the administration of Benjamin Harrison, Mr. Douglass was appointed Minister to Haiti. After his death in 1895 his body was interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester.
This monument to Frederick Douglass had been located near the train station in Rochester, but due to the fact that smoke and congestion became heavy in that area, city authorities moved the statue to Highland Park Bowl in 1941. This location is near the site of his home on South Avenue, which burned in 1872, arson was suspected.
The home on Alexander Street, that served as an Underground Railroad site has been torn down.
The granite section of the monument was made by Smith Granite Co. of Westerly, R.I. The model for the bronze statue was Douglass' son, Charles R. Douglass.
It appears Douglass' birth year is either 1817 or 1818, not 1807 as the guide suggests.
Book: Rochester - Monroe County
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 165
Year Originally Published: 1937
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