Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument Art Prints

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument preserves the home and legacy of Charles Young in Wilberforce, Ohio.  Born in 1864, Young rose through a military career marked by discipline, intellect, and barrier-breaking service.  He became the third African American graduate of West Point, served with the Buffalo Soldiers, and later became the first African American superintendent of a national park while serving at Sequoia and General Grant national parks in 1903.  In 2021, he was honorably and posthumously promoted to Brigadier General.

Young’s Wilberforce years are especially important to this Greene County story.  While assigned to Wilberforce University, he taught military science and became part of an academic and cultural community that included major Black leaders and institutions.  His home, later known as Youngsholm, stands as a physical connection to his family life, professional service, intellectual world, and influence on future generations.

The monument also honors the broader story of the Buffalo Soldiers, African American military service, and the long struggle for recognition within American history.  For photography, this site carries a quiet weight.  It is not only a preserved home or a national park unit; it is a place where education, service, racial progress, military excellence, and personal perseverance all meet in one Wilberforce landscape.  I recently learned this home served a fraternity home for students in the 1970s where a former resident of the home purchase one of the prints in this gallery.