The Homes of Booker T. Washington

Daily 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day
Admission: Free

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery here on April 5, 1856. Today the national park includes most of the original 207-acre tobacco plantation that he knew. Tourists can see slave cabins and farm buildings similar to those in Washington's time.

Tourists can choose between a guided or self-guided tour of the one-quarter mile plantation trail. Guided tours begin with a documentary film of his life. Tourists are invited to bring their lunch and enjoy the wooded picnic area before or after their tour.

The Oaks
Booker T. Washington's Family Home
1212 Old Montgomery Road
Tuskegee, Alabama 36083
(334) 727-3200

Daily 9-11 a.m.; 1-4 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day
Admission: free
(Note: Tour groups must schedule at least one month in advance.)

This beautiful Victorian brick home was built entirely by Tuskegee Institute students and faculty in 1899. The paid student and faculty workers followed the plans designed by Robert Robinson Taylor, the first African-American to graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Training (MIT) in Boston, Massachusetts. The workers made the bricks using the soil from the Institute land and constructed the home. It is one of the few surviving structures of the era designed and built by African-Americans.

At the time of its construction, the home and the adjoining property had been purchased by Booker T. Washington. It did not become a part of Tuskegee Institute until many years later.

Washington loved his home and once lamented having to spend so much time away from it and his family. Speaking engagements and other work-related obligations required him to be on the road almost half of each year.

On the first floor, above the picture molding, are frieze murals which were painted in 1908 by E. W. Borman, a European artist. In the parlor and dining room are a piano and table games, set and ready to play. The Washingtons enjoyed spending the evenings in the parlor, telling stories about ancestors and talking about the events of the day. Many nights Portia, Washington's daughter, entertained the family by playing the piano.

The second floor is where Washington made his office. Here Washington mixed functional furniture with elaborate, hand-carved furniture from the Orient.

While visiting in the area, many tourists drive through the Tuskegee National Forest along US 80. At the picnic area, Taska, is a replica of the old log cabin where Booker T. Washington was born.

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