A Wegmans on the edge of suburbia is not the landmark you’d expect to use to find ruins of a noble effort. Yet that commonplace monument of modern living signals the correct path to the remnants of a dream that’s being taken over by nature’s tendrils. This was supposed to be a national museum that would explore our nation’s ugliest stain.

The idea for the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, Virginia was the brainchild of Douglas Wilder, the first Black man to be elected governor of a U.S. state. Wilder had also served as a Virginia senator, lieutenant governor and, after his term in the governor’s mansion, mayor of Richmond from 2005-2009. His governmental credentials were extensive and his politics were refreshingly progressive for the time. It is a great misfortune that the remains his mission of “education, re-education, and policy formation regarding slavery in America” have been left to rot behind a decrepit steel gate.

Years of fundraising and campaigning to establish the museum were not enough to tackle the hurdle of being denied tax exempt status by the Fredericksburg City Council. The effort was hampered, too, by recession, lackluster fundraising and competing projects such as the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Lacking the funds to pay property taxes, plans to begin construction on the 38 acres of land were halted indefinitely. The taxes on the land went unpaid. Wilder’s effort never seemed to gain sufficient momentum.

In 2007, National Slavery Museum backers created a small Spirit of Freedom garden, and that’s all that remains of this undertaking today. This modest display, however, did not include thousands of dollars worth of artifacts that were donated to the project by couple from Suffolk, Virginia – including a first-edition copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

According to archived articles by Fredericksburg’s newspaper, The Free Lance-Star, the 95 items were never returned to their donors, and all attempts to contact Wilder and his limited museum staff were unsuccessful. The property has since been sold, and no further efforts to establish a National Slavery Museum have been made.

Lingering just off a dead-end street hides the remnants of the pitiful garden built instead of National Slavery Museum. To park, you’ll need to stop farther up the road, as the end is well marked with “no parking” signs. Make sure to step carefully if you visit. The site continues to deteriorate – what is pictured may no longer be in the same condition.

Nothing will ever come close to eclipsing the horror of this defining, deplorable element of U.S. history, but there’s nevertheless a certain sadness that this honorable endeavor never got off the ground. Let us know if you’ve visited and share your thoughts about the abandoned National Slavery Museum in the comments.