National Historic Landmark- Joseph Hayne Rainey House

Joseph Hayne Rainey (1832-1887), the first Black person to serve in the United States House of Representatives (1870-79), served longer than any of his Black contemporaries.

The election of Rainey and of Hiram R. Revels, who began a term in the U.S. Senate in the same year, marked the beginning of active Black participation in the Federal legislative process.

Rainey was born in this house and lived here until 1846. After the Civil War, from 1866 to 1881 and again from 1886 until his death the next year, it was his principal residence.

Courtesy National Park Service National Historic Landmarks