For almost 200 years, the U.S. Army was a good steward of Fort Monroe, but the transition to its new civilian use requires intensive planning to ensure that the fort is carefully preserved and skillfully adapted. The Fort Monroe Authority is leading the way. On November 1, 2011, President Barack Obama named the fort a National Monument—a key strategy to preserve the fortress with the National Park Service.

Fort Monroe has long been recognized for its military heritage associated with Robert E. Lee (who helped build the fort) and Jefferson Davis (who was imprisoned there following the war). But the fort has an under-appreciated heritage related to the origins and ending of slavery in America. In 1619, the first slave ship to arrive in the English-speaking New World deposited its cargo of captive Africans, enslaved by the Portuguese and then taken by English privateers to the British Colonies at Point Comfort, where Fort Monroe now stands.

In 1861, as the Civil War raged, Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townsend—enslaved African Americans—sought protection at Fort Monroe, a Union stronghold. Union General Benjamin Butler declared them “contraband” of war. As word spread of the freedom seekers at Fort Monroe, more than 500,000 enslaved people followed in the footsteps of Mallory, Baker, and Townsend, leading to one of our nation’s most extraordinary—and until now, overlooked—chapters, and heralding the end of slavery in America.

A new master plan is underway for Fort Monroe and the site is now being re-envisioned with a focus on green space, historic preservation, and creating a welcoming public destination. The new approach aims to honor the site’s layered history, reduce costly underground work, and reimagine Fort Monroe as a historic park rather than a dense urban district.

The National Trust has been involved with Fort Monroe for over two decades as a participant and collaborator in preservation-based reuse planning, establishing the National Monument, and providing funding support through our African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Over the years, the National Trust has worked closely with the Fort Monroe Authority, National Park Service, Preservation Virginia, American Battlefield Trust, National Parks Conservation Association, and many local groups. In recognition of Fort Monroe’s rich history, the National Trust is committed to continuing to champion and preserve this National Historic Landmark and its stories of hope, resilience, and freedom.