Near Mineral in Louisa County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Henry Box Brown

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 28, 2012

1. Henry Box Brown Marker

Inscription. Born into slavery about 1815 at The Hermitage Plantation near here, Henry Brown was working in Richmond by 1830. Brown mailed himself to Philadelphia, and freedom, on 23 Mar. 1849 inside a three-foot-long box. Brown became a spokesperson for the abolitionist movement and symbol of the Underground Railroad. He published with Charles Stearns the Narrative of Henry Box Brown and exhibited a moving panorama, “The Mirror of Slavery.” Forced to leave the country in Oct. 1850 after the Fugitive Slave Act because of the threat of reenslavement, Brown moved to Great Britain where he toured as an entertainer. He returned to the United States in 1875 and died sometime after 1889.

Erected 2011 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number W-235.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 23, 1849.

Location. 37° 56.846′ N, 77° 53.596′ W. Marker is near Mineral, Virginia, in Louisa County. It is on Jefferson Highway (Virginia Route 33) half a mile east of Cross Country Road (U.S. 522), on the left when traveling

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east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mineral VA 23117, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Piedmont

and in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Captain Jack Jouett, Jr. (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Tavern At Cuckoo (approx. 0.6 miles away); Jack Jouett's Ride (approx. 0.6 miles away); Cuckoo (approx. 0.6 miles away); Richardson and Morton Schools (approx. 5 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2359 (approx. 5.9 miles away); Historic Louisa (approx. 7.7 miles away); Michie House (approx. 7.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mineral.

Also see . . . Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself. Electronic Edition of book by Henry Box Brown published in Manchester in 1851. “Here is a man who has been the hero of one of the most extraordinary achievements I ever heard of;—he came to me on Saturday Morning last, in a box tightly hooped, marked ‘THIS SIDE UP,’ by overland express, from the city of Richmond!! Did you ever hear of any thing in all your life to beat that? Nothing that was done on the barricades of Paris exceeded this cool and deliberate intrepidity. To appreciate fully the boldness and risk of the achievement, you ought to see the box and hear all the circumstances.

Rt 33 (facing west) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 28, 2012

2. Rt 33 (facing west)

The box is in the clear three feet one inch long, two feet six inches deep, and two feet wide. It was a regular old store box such as you see in Pearl-street;—it was grooved at the joints and braced at the ends, leaving but the very slightest crevice to admit the air.” (Submitted on August 4, 2017.)

Rt 33 (facing east) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 28, 2012

3. Rt 33 (facing east)

Henry “Box” Brown upon his deliverance from slavery. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by A. Donnelly

4. Henry “Box” Brown upon his deliverance from slavery.

The resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia, who escaped from Richmond Va. in a bx 3 feet long 2 1/2 ft. deep and 2 ft wide. Library of Congress [LC-USZC4-4659]

“Resurrection of Henry Box Brown, at Philadelphia” image. Click for full size.

Photographed by J. J. Prats

5. “Resurrection of Henry Box Brown, at Philadelphia”

Illustration in the 1851 book Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, written by himself.

Henry Box Brown Plaza, Richmond Canal Walk image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, May 31, 2025

6. Henry Box Brown Plaza, Richmond Canal Walk

As part of the Canal Walk in the City of Richmond, this plaza memorializes Henry "Box" Brown and includes a metal box that approximates the size of Henry Brown's escape enclosure - allowing the visitor to attempt squeezing in to such a small place.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 4,740 times since then and 97 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week August 6, 2017. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 29, 2012, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 4. submitted on October 30, 2009, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 5. submitted on August 4, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 6. submitted on April 22, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.