Originally, John Van Hook was the one who bought the site of the Frederick Douglass home and he did this in 1855. Later, the house was owned by the Freedom Savings and Trust Company for a portion of 1877 until it was finally purchased by Frederick Douglass in that same year. Frederick Douglass is a notable figure that spent his life fighting for equality and justice. He was born into slavery in 1818, but as a young man he escaped and afterwards became one of the abolitionist movement's leading voice until he died. Even today, there are thousands of people who still find inspiration in his humanitarian lifestyle, tireless struggle, brilliant words and fight for justice. Helen Pitts Douglass, who was Douglass's second wife, founded the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association in 1900 after the death of Frederick Douglass and in 1916, the association joined with the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. These associations were the owners of the house up until 1962. This was when the federal government, through the national park service, took the deed to the house with the intention of preserving and restoring it back to its glory. It is at Cedar Hill where Douglass lived the last 17 years of his life, that his legacy is preserved.