Montgomery's Slave Depots

MONTGOMERY'S 
SLAVE DEPOTS 

Montgomery slave traders operated depots where enslaved men, 
women, and children were confined. The slave depots functioned as 
active trading sites and as detention facilities where the enslaved 
were held captive until they were auctioned at Court Square. The 
city had four major slave depots. Three of the depots lines 
Market Street (now Dexter Avenue) between Lawrence and 
McDonough and were owned by Mason Harwell, S. N. Brown, and 
E. Barnard & Co. In 1859, Montgomery had as many slave depots 
as it did hotels and banks. The slave trade continued to thrive 
in Montgomery even during the Civil War. As late as 1865, Thomas 
L. Frazer opened a new slave depot on this block and sold boys 
and girls "of all descriptions."

EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE 2013