Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is temporarily closed due to a full renovation project. Please continue to visit the website for future updates.

Carter G. Woodson Home NHS temporarily closed.

Before Dr. Carter G. Woodson, there was very little accurate written history about the lives and experiences of Americans of African descent. Today a National Historic Site, Dr. Woodson’s home served as the headquarters for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Dr. Woodson established Negro History Week here in 1926, which we celebrate today as Black History Month.

The restored facades of three historic Victorian row-homes on an urban street in Washington, DC

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site

The backs of the three restored homes that make up the Woodson Home NHS with accessibility

Handicapped Accessibility at the back of the Carter G. Woodson Home NHS

The second level in a historic home with wooden floorboards, steps, railings, light fixtures, window

Hallway and staircases on second level

Old-fashioned type writers sits on top of a desk with other office supplies

Typewriter

Carter G. Woodson Home exterior

Carter G. Woodson Home

The Carter G. Woodson Home is normally open for tours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Visiting the site on other days of the week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) is available by appointment only. To request a tour outside of the listed hours, please contact us by email (woodsonnhs@nps.gov) or phone (202-438-6593 or 202-426-5961). (Scheduling is dependent upon staff availability)

Park Hours

Guided Tours

Ranger-led tours of the home are only offered on the days the site is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Tours are given every hour with the exception of 12 noon. Drop-ins are welcome. Groups of more than 10 people are strongly encouraged to make a reservation before-hand. Reservations can be made online through recreation.gov, or by calling (202) 426-5961, or emailing woodsonnhs@nps.gov. The National Park Service also offers walking tours of Dr. Woodson's neighborhood within the historic Shaw community.

Carter G. Woodson Home NHS

1538 Ninth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001

Visitors can take a ranger-led tour of the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, which was Dr. Carter G. Woodson's office-home from 1922 until his death in 1950. Known as the "Birthplace of Black History Month", this home is where Woodson also inaugurated Negro History Week in 1926 (celebrated today as Black History Month), established a headquarters for both the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. and his publishing company the Associated Publishers, Inc. from 1922 to 1971. Tours are only offered when the site is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Service animals are <a href="http://www.ada.gov/">allowed in national parks. For a definition of a service animal</a>, please see the <a href="http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm">Americans with Disability Act (ADA) definition</a>.

Ranger-led tours of the home are only offered on the days the site is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Tours are given every hour with the exception of 12 noon. Drop-ins are welcome. Groups of more than 10 people are strongly encouraged to make a reservation before-hand. Reservations can be made online through recreation.gov, or by calling (202) 426-5961, or emailing woodsonnhs@nps.gov.

The Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is one of the newest units of the National Park Service. Acquired in 2005, the historic home was restored and opened to the public in 2017, and the restoration of the remaining structures is expected to be complete in 2022.

The home is only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Peer Into the Past at the Carter G. Woodson Home

African American Heritage

Architecture and Building

Great Depression

Migrations

Military

Monuments and Memorials

Reconstruction

Religion and Spirituality

Schools and Education

Social Movements

Civil Rights

Voting Rights and Suffrage

Urban America

Wars and Conflicts

American Revolutionary War

Civil War

World War I

World War II

Bookstore and Park Store

The only time vIsitors can physically peruse and purchase merchandise at the bookstore of the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is when the site is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Items related to the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site can also be purchased online at <a href="https://shop.americasnationalparks.org/store/">America's National Parks' website</a>.

Woodson Home Bookstore

The bookstore for the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is located in the temporary Visitor Center located next door to the historic home. The historic home is numbered 1538 and the temporary Visitor Center is numbered 1540. The site is only open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Operated by America's National Parks, the bookstore sells unique educational products and books related to Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and African American History.

Visitors can visit the site bookstore to purchase merchandise at the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site's Visitor Center.

The only time to physically access the bookstore at the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is when the site is open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Items related to the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site can also be purchased online at <a href="https://shop.americasnationalparks.org/store/">America's National Parks' website</a>.

Carter G. Woodson Home NHS Bookstore

Self-Guided Tours - Walking

A walk through the neighborhood to see other historic homes, places, and memorials. Along the way, you may want to stop for lunch as well.

All ages, but minors must be with an adult parent or guardian

Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park

After you visit the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site located at 1538 Ninth Street, N.W., visit these other places in the nearby Shaw and Logan Circle neighborhoods to learn more history.

Explore nearby historical sites and parks in the Washington, D.C. area related to the life and legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), and African American History. Search <a href="https://www.nps.gov/tripideas/civil-rights-in-washington-dc.htm">Civil Rights Trip Ideas</a>   <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cawo/index.htm">•</a><a href="https://www.nps.gov/mamc/index.htm">Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site </a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cahi/index.htm">•Capitol Hill Parks</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm">•Frederick Douglass National Historic Site</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/nama/index.htm">•National Mall and Memorial Parks</a> <a href="http://www.afroamcivilwar.org/">•African American Civil War Memorial and Museum</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cahi/index.htm">•</a><a href="http://www.pwywca.org/">Phyllis Wheatley YWCA</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/keaq/index.htm">•</a><a href="https://home.howard.edu/">Howard University</a> <a href="http://www.afroamcivilwar.org/">•</a><a href="https://www.culturaltourismdc.org/portal/827">Shaw Heritage Trail</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cahi/index.htm">•</a><a href="https://shilohbaptist.org/">Shiloh Baptist Church</a> <a href="https://www.nps.gov/frdo/index.htm">•</a><a href="https://dgs.dc.gov/page/dgs-carter-g-woodson-memorial-park-project">Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park</a>

After you visit the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, check out these nearby places.

Places of Interest Related to Carter G. Woodson

Junior Ranger Program

Becoming a Junior Ranger at the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is easy and fun! Ask a ranger for a Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor center. There are twelve activities in the booklet; once you have completed at least seven activities, turn your booklet back into the ranger at the visitor center. The ranger will review your work, swear you in as a Junior Ranger, and issue you a Junior Ranger badge unique to this site. 

Intern swears in Junior Ranger

Copies of the Junior Ranger Booklet can be retrieved from the Visitor Center at the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site or can be downloaded online at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cawo/learn/kidsyouth/index.htm">Kids & Youth - Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)</a>.

The NPS Junior Ranger Program is an activity based program conducted in almost all parks, and some Junior Ranger programs are national. To become a Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Junior Ranger, you can either visit the site or <a href="https://www.nps.gov/cawo/learn/kidsyouth/upload/CAWO-Jr-Ranger-Book_508.pdf">download the Junior Ranger booklet</a>. Once completed, mail your book to 1318 Vermont Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005 or you can email it to woodsonnhs@nps.gov. A Park Ranger will sign your certificate and mail your official Junior Ranger badge.

Complete our Junior Ranger Book for the Carter G. Woodson Home NHS and mail or email it to us and a ranger will mail back your signed certificate and Junior Ranger badge.

You can download and complete the Junior Ranger Activity Booklet at anytime and mail or email it. If you want a hardcopy of the book to complete while physically on-site, you will only be able to do so during our normal hours of operation on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Alert: Carter G. Woodson Home NHS temporarily closed.: Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is temporarily closed due to a full renovation project. Please continue to visit the website for future updates.

Carter G. Woodson Home

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Peer Into the Past at the Carter G. Woodson Home

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Carter G. Woodson Home NHS Bookstore

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Places of Interest Related to Carter G. Woodson

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Become a Woodson Home Junior Ranger

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