Southwest Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)

A.H. Francis Building - 1854

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 2023

1. A.H. Francis Building - 1854 Marker

Inscription. Here, in one of the city's first brick buildings, Abner Hunt Francis and his brother Isaac operated a thriving clothing business. Educated free Blacks, they settled in Oregon despite the territory's 1849 Black exclusion laws. When in 1851 the Francis Brothers were ordered to leave, 216 prominent Portlanders petitioned successfully against their removal.

A. H. Francis (1812-1872) and his wife Sydna Francis (1815-1889) were leading anti-slavery advocates. They counted Frederick Douglass as a friend; both published in his "North Star" newspaper. While living in Portland, they continued to pursue abolition and equal rights for all citizens.

Isaac Francis died in 1856. In 1860, Abner, Sydna, and their daughter, Theodosia,left Portland to join Sydna's parents in Victoria, B.C.

Erected 2021 by Lang Syne Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Architecture • Civil Rights • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1854.

Location. 45° 31.167′ N, 122° 40.307′ W. Marker is in Portland, Oregon, in Multnomah County. It is

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in Southwest Portland. It is on Harvey Milk Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 SW Harvey Milk Street, Portland OR 97204, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge

and in the Willamette Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fechheimer & White Building (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Dielschneider Building (about 300 feet away); In Remembrance of the United States Battleship Oregon (about 400 feet away); Figurehead and Foremast of the Battleship Oregon (about 400 feet away); Battleship Oregon Memorial Marine Park (about 500 feet away); Benjamin Stark (about 500 feet away); Dekum Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Ankeny Arcade (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map

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of all markers in Portland.

More about this marker. Marker was dedicated September 18, 2021. It is on the concrete barrier at the end of the Morrison Bridge exit ramp facing Harvey Milk Street

Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2025, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 91 times since then and 49 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on October 12, 2025, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.