Forgotten Home of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass' original home on Rochester's South Avenue burned down in 1872, after which he moved to Washington D.C. No one seemed to remember that he actually had another house in Rochester until Czerkas started doing her historical detective work. "He retained ownership of that house until the day he died," said Czerkas. Douglass lived in the home from time to time, and also listed it as his legal address so he could vote. "Now we have an official place to say, 'This is where he did his work, this is where he lived,'" said Dukes. "Frederick Douglass did so much to end slavery and get voting rights for black men," said Czerkas. "We had to have something, because everything else was gone. And it turned out that Sherri Dukes and her house had it all." A place history almost forgot, but one Rochester can now be proud of.