Bethune Council House

Mary McLeod Bethune, one of 17 children born to poor ex-slaves on a cotton farm in South Carolina in 1875, founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls and served as President Franklin Roosevelt’s special advisor on minority affairs. In Washington, DC, she rose through the political ranks to become the first African American woman to head a federal office. Her Vermont Ave home, where she lived for seven years, has been transformed into an archive, research center and small museum administered by the National Park Service. Rangers lead tours and show videotapes about Bethune’s life, and exhibits, lectures and workshops on black history are held here as well.