Preserving Black History Legacies: Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site

Quinn Evans has been involved with a series of extraordinary projects to preserve the invaluable legacy of African Americans whose experiences and achievements have enriched our country, often at a great personal sacrifice. Protecting these places enables immersive visitor education and engagement with the past, perpetuating the immeasurable impact these events have had on our continued quest for equality.

Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American author, poet, and playwright known for his use of dialect and conversational style in conveying metaphor and rhetoric. A literary talent since childhood, he was the first African American to financially support himself through his writing career. At the height of his success in the 1890s, Dunbar became associated with leaders of the day, such as Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington; he was also a civil rights activist. In 1904, Paul Laurence Dunbar purchased this home for his mother and lived there until his death in 1906, at age 33. The home was later purchased by the state of Ohio and dedicated as the first state memorial to an African American in 1936. It is now a National Historic Landmark and part of the National Aviation Heritage Area.

Quinn Evans is conducting an on-site survey that will lead to the completion of measured drawings and photographs, historic building and landscape chronology, Historic Structures Report, Cultural Landscape Report, and treatment recommendations for the Paul Laurence Dunbar House and barn on two lots that comprise the property.