Leonard A. Grimes
(1815 - 1873)
Leonard A. Grimes, a Black man born free in Leesburg, Virginia, owned a residence on this corner from 1836 to 1846.
In the 1830s, he owned a successful coach business transporting passengers in and around Washington. He also carried slaves seeking freedom in the North and was an early organizer of the Underground Railroad.
From 1840 to 1842, he was imprisoned in Richmond for aiding an escape. In 1846 Grimes moved with his family to New Bedford, Massachusetts where he continued his anti-slavery activities.
Seeking a larger scope for his work, in 1848 he moved to Boston where he distinguished himself as a cleric, abolitionist and statesman.
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg,
The GW Student Association – Lamar Thorpe, President
Amb. Ronald Palmer, Gerald B. Kauvar, Deborah Lee
The DC Humanities Council
Jenny Masur
2007
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Marker is at the intersection of H Street, NW and 22nd Street, NW on H Street, NW.
Courtesy hmdb.org
