Sharing Stories of Enslavement and Emancipation at Rock Creek Park’s Peirce Mill

A new project will trace the lives of six individuals who were once enslaved at the former Peirce Estate, which is now part of Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park. Friends of Peirce Mill, a nonprofit partner to the park, is leading the effort to develop online resources for elementary, middle, and high school educators to share these lesser-known stories with their students.

Friends of Peirce Mill works to preserve and interpret the history of D.C.'s last working gristmill. The group is collaborating with the park, historians, D.C. Public School teachers, and a web designer on the accessible website, which will feature historic documents, maps, and images to tell stories of the individual lives impacted by slavery in D.C.

Before the Civil War, much of Rock Creek Park, then on the outskirts of the nation's new capital city, belonged to the Peirce family, which used the labor of enslaved people for enterprises including milling. By the time President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in D.C. in April 1862, the Peirce family had 32 enslaved individuals, who were then freed. Most of those individual stories have not been widely researched or told.

Stories From the Peirce Estates

One of the individuals whose story will be featured on the website is William Beckett, who was the enslaved manager of Joshua Peirce's horticultural business in what is now Rock Creek Park. He was later a business owner and presidential coachman, among other jobs. Through a prior research project, Friends of Peirce Mill found evidence that Beckett was also likely Peirce's son, inspiring new research into their relationship and about Beckett's life before and after Emancipation. The website will enable Friends of Peirce Mill to share Beckett's and other individuals' stories - including enslaved women - with local teachers and students in 4th through 12th grades.

Grant funding supported the park partner to hire a project researcher who has been delving into individual historical stories, from enslavement through Emancipation and Reconstruction. And three local teachers - from the elementary, middle school, and high school level - will serve as paid advisors on the project, reviewing content and developing strategies for classroom use.

The website will launch by February 2026 to align with Black History Month commemorations. Friends of Peirce Mill will host in-person and virtual kick-off events to ensure the new online resources are accessible to D.C. teachers and students.

Peirce Mill Today

Today, Peirce Mill is a popular destination within Rock Creek Park and the city's last working gristmill, a symbol of D.C.'s agrarian past.

In addition to this project, NPF has supported Friends of Peirce Mill with grants aimed at boosting the park partner's capacity. Most recently, funding helped to revitalize the mill by hiring a miller to keep the wheels turning and expand interpretive and educational programming at the mill.

Visitors to Peirce Mill can now see the mill in action and soon will be able to learn more about the full history of the estate that once surrounded the mill.