7 12, 2016

1. Dorchester County Visitor Center

2023-07-04T07:34:27-04:00

1. Dorchester County Visitor Center

Information and Orientation for the Journey

Overlooking the Choptank River, the Dorchester County Visitor Center is the perfect place to begin your byway adventure. Inside the center, an exhibit provides background information on Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad activity in the area. Knowledgeable staff can assist you in planning your tour and will provide information on events, accommodations, dining opportunities, shopping, and outdoor experiences.

In 1608, English Captain John Smith met Native Americans here when he explored the Chesapeake Bay. As the colony flourished, so did demand for cheap labor. In 1664, the General Assembly codified a system of slavery that for 200 years supported an economy based on the labor of enslaved workers. In time, Dorchester’s proximity to free states made it a hotbed of Underground Railroad activity, until emancipation came to Maryland slaves at the end of the Civil War in 1864.

Please visit the Dorchester County Office of Tourism’s website at VisitDorchester.org to learn how to make the most of your time while in Dorchester County, including information on local lodging, dining, events, history, shopping and more.

Information

Address

2 Rose Hill Place
Cambridge, MD 21613
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm; Saturday and Sunday, 10am-2pm
410-228-1000
VisitDorchester.org

GPS Coordinates: 38.570851,-76.064363

Practical info
  • Restrooms
  • Maps
  • Exhibits
  • Playground

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1. Dorchester County Visitor Center2023-07-04T07:34:27-04:00
7 12, 2016

2. Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden

2017-01-30T13:02:06-05:00

2. Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden

Honoring Harriet Tubman

Relatives of Harriet Ross Tubman still live in Dorchester County as do descendants of the enslaved and slave holders. Members of the local community chose to honor Tubman at this quiet roadside garden. People across the country can join them in paying their respects to this American hero.

Tubman’s story, that of a young slave who freed herself, then returned to rescue family and friends, inspires emotional and artistic expression in works of literature, music, sculpture, paint, and performance. One of Tubman’s relatives, Charles Ross, painted the murals here. Exterior exhibits describe her life and Underground Railroad activities in the area. The Memorial Garden is located adjacent to Route 50 East, near a variety of accommodations and services.

Information

Address

U.S. 50 at Washington Street, Cambridge MD 21613
Open daily, dawn to dusk

Practical info
  • Small parking lot on site

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2. Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden2017-01-30T13:02:06-05:00
7 12, 2016

3. Dorchester County Courthouse

2023-03-14T09:52:32-04:00

3. Dorchester County Courthouse

Challenging Slavery

In 1850, Harriet Tubman’s niece, Kessiah, and her two children escaped from the auction block at the front of the courthouse. On the day of the auction, Kessiah and her children stood before buyers when the bidding started. Kessiah’s husband, John Bowley, a free black ship carpenter, outbid everyone. When an official appeared to collect payment, no one came forward. Kessiah and her children were missing. John had secretly whisked them away and transported them by boat to Baltimore, where Harriet met them and led them to Philadelphia.

The original courthouse from this auction scene burned in 1852. This Italianate building, constructed in 1854, stood at the center of Cambridge’s political and economic life. Many records from the slavery era survived the courthouse fire, and are now part of the research collections at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis.

Several significant incidents occurred at this site during the height of the Underground Railroad. In 1857, Samuel Green, a free black farmer, Methodist preacher and Underground Railroad agent, drew national attention when he was tried here and sentenced to 10 years in prison for owning a copy of the anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Beacon Of Hope Harriet Tubman Sculpture - Cambridge, MD - Photo by Jill Jasuta

Beacon Of Hope – Harriet Tubman Sculpture in Cambridge, MD. Photo by Jill Jasuta

In 1858, Hugh Hazlett, an Irish laborer and Underground Railroad conductor, was captured and brought by boat to be imprisoned here. He escaped, was recaptured and later sentenced to 44 years for assisting fugitive slaves.

And in 2022, a different sort of history was made here: The “Beacon of Hope,” a 12-foot bronze sculpture by noted artist Wesley Wofford, was dedicated and installed at the site. The outdoor sculpture is open to the public 24/7. Read more about the sculpture.

Information

Address

206 High Street
Cambridge, MD 21613

GPS Coordinates: 38.571992,-76.076497

Practical info
  • Network to Freedom Program site
  • Street parking only
  • Wayside exhibit
  • Shopping nearby
  • Restaurants nearby

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3. Dorchester County Courthouse2023-03-14T09:52:32-04:00
7 12, 2016

5. Long Wharf

2023-05-26T11:33:16-04:00

5. Long Wharf

Portal to Slavery – Gateway to Freedom

In the 18th century, when people, goods and information traveled by water, Cambridge was a regional center for the slave trade. Ships from Africa and the West Indies brought kidnapped Africans and sold them along this waterfront until the trans-Atlantic slave trade was outlawed in 1808. Soon, southern states began cultivating cotton, increasing their need for enslaved labor. About the same time, wheat prices plummeted causing a surge in the sales of enslaved people from the Eastern Shore. Thousands of them were eventually shipped from this wharf to plantations in the Deep South, never to see their homes or families again.

Information

Address

GPS Coordinates: 38.575108,-76.072447

Practical info
  • Parking lot
  • Farmers Market
    May-October, Thursdays, 3-6pm
  • Cambridge Historic Walking Tour
    April-October, Saturdays, 11am
  • Skipjack Sails
    May-October, Saturdays
  • Restaurants nearby

 

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5. Long Wharf2023-05-26T11:33:16-04:00
7 12, 2016

6. Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center

2023-05-26T11:32:10-04:00

6. Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center

Keeping the Flame Alive

“Take My Hand” mural on the Harriet Tubman Museum

The Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center is one of the oldest community organizations dedicated to the memory of Harriet Tubman. Over the past three decades, their efforts have included memorials to Tubman, tours to significant sites associated with her life, museum exhibits, educational programming, celebrations and community outreach.

Founded in the mid-1980s, the Harriet Tubman Organization is dedicated to preserving Tubman’s connection to the local community and to helping young people see Tubman as a role model. The museum hosts numerous programs throughout the year. The organization’s members have inspired community action and encouraged interpretation and research into Harriet’s life and legacy. Inside the museum, visitors will find exhibits and resources. Volunteer members of the organization answer questions and provide information on Harriet Tubman and the region. Step-on guided tours of area sites associated with Harriet Tubman are available by appointment. The museum has a gift shop and literature about area attractions.

The exterior of the museum building features a powerful and moving mural of Harriet Tubman, completed in 2019, that has attracted attention from around the country. (The mural was commissioned by the Dorchester Center for the Arts for the 50th Anniversary of the Maryland State Arts Council. It is a partnership project between Dorchester Center for the Arts, Alpha Genesis CDC, The Maryland State Arts Council, and the Harriet Tubman Organization, with additional support from Downtown Cambridge.)

As of January 2022, hours are Thursday-Friday, 12-3pm; Saturday 12-4pm. For questions, please call the museum at 410-228-0401.

NOTE: This museum is different than the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, which opened in 2017 in Church Creek, Maryland, about 20 minutes from downtown Cambridge. Find out more about the Tubman Visitor Center.

Information

Address

424 Race Street
Cambridge, MD 21613-1836
410-228-0401
harriettubmanmuseumcenter.org

GPS Coordinates: 38.569293,-76.076925

Open Thursday-Friday, 12-3pm; Saturday 12-4pm

Practical info
  • Street parking only
  • Shopping nearby
  • Restaurants nearby

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6. Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center2023-05-26T11:32:10-04:00
7 12, 2016

7. Stanley Institute

2023-05-26T11:31:01-04:00

7. Stanley Institute

School of Determination

During a three week period in October 1857, 44 enslaved people in two large groups successfully escaped from farms near here and in Cambridge. Five families – the Vineys, Anthonys, Cornishes, Ambys, and Hills –- carried 20 children with them. Heavily armed, the freedom seekers were determined to avoid capture by bounty hunters. Almost caught near Wilmington, Delaware, the freedom seekers reached Philadelphia and then Canada with the help of black and white Underground Railroad agents.

National newspapers called the escapes a “Stampede of Slaves.” Sadly, some of these self-liberators were forced to leave loved ones behind. The story of the Underground Railroad is not always one of triumph and liberty, but rather, it is also the story of the people who could not or would not leave, and those who were left behind.

Before the Civil War, it was a crime to teach a slave to read, and there were few opportunities to learn. In 1867, this oneroom schoolhouse was moved here. The Rock School, now called the Stanley Institute, is an early example of a post-Civil War African-American school built and run independently by the local black community. It stands as a testament to the black community’s determination to educate their children in a segregated school system. This school was used until the 1960s. The Christ Rock Church, across the street, was built in 1875.

Information

Address

MD Route 16, Cambridge, MD 21613

GPS Coordinates: 38.545048,-76.102735

Practical info
  • Limited parking on grounds
  • Additional parking across street
  • Gas nearby

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7. Stanley Institute2023-05-26T11:31:01-04:00
7 12, 2016

8. Church Creek

2023-05-26T11:29:49-04:00

8. Church Creek

Crosscurrents of Slavery and Freedom

Church Creek was a thriving shipbuilding center on the waterfront during the 1830s. Workers in the maritime trades – shipwrights, caulkers, sail makers and blacksmiths – labored and mingled at the wharves with highly mobile, free black sailors. These “Black Jacks” were part of a secret communication network that spanned not only coastal American towns, but also across the Atlantic. They brought news, ideas, and information to enslaved communities, spreading notions of liberty and equality, as well as gossip. Sometimes they provided a means to escape. In the early 19th century, a large community of enslaved and free black families lived and worked between here, Harrisville and White Marsh Roads.

Church Creek sits along Route 16, which follows an ancient pre-colonial Indian trail used for seasonal migrations and trade between the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. “The great majority of enslaved people who fled this county before the Civil War came from places along this road, which begins in Taylors Island to the west and continues northeast through Cambridge. The freedom seekers followed the direction of this route and headed into Caroline County, Maryland and onto Delaware.” Access to information and escapes via vessels likely secured this route’s reputation as a “Highway to Freedom.”

Information

Address

GPS Coordinates: 38.501579,-76.152396

Practical info
  • Parking

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8. Church Creek2023-05-26T11:29:49-04:00
7 12, 2016

9. Malone’s Church

2023-05-26T11:28:56-04:00

9. Malone’s Church

Early Church

For decades before the Civil War, four nearby communities, connected by footpaths through the woods, provided a strong social network among free and enslaved blacks. As soon as the war ended, these communities established their own African American churches. Founded in 1864, Malone’s Methodist Episcopal Church was the first. Their immediate formation after emancipation indicates that strong faith communities existed long before freedom came.

Beginning in the 1790s, a small but growing free black community established itself on lands surrounding this church. Over the years, more free families settled this area between Harrisville and White Marsh roads, known as Peter’s Neck. Many intermarried with enslaved families held in bondage by the local white landowners. This community created an important social world for Harriet and her family. The people timbered the land, farmed and worked the docks in nearby Madison.

Araminta Ross or “Minty,” later known as Harriet Tubman, was probably born in 1822 at Anthony Thompson’s farm on nearby Harrisville Road. Thompson cultivated grains and other foodstuffs, but timbering the white oak, pine, walnut and maple on his lands occupied the majority of his enslaved people’s efforts. By the time Harriet was born, Thompson enslaved nearly 40 people, including Ben Ross, her father. Ben was one of Thompson’s most valuable men. As a timber cutter and inspector, Ben’s skills increased the profitability of Thompson’s lands.

Tubman’s mother, Rit belonged to Thompson’s stepson, Edward Brodess, who later moved Rit and five of her children, including young Araminta (Harriet Tubman), to his farm in Bucktown. By 1840, Rit, Tubman, and several siblings were back living on Thompson’s farm. Harriet Tubman’s birth site is on private property. Nearly 200 years after her birth, no structural evidence of slave quarters remains at the site. Oral tradition suggests that Harriet Tubman worked and lived near the historic Malone’s Methodist Episcopal Church with her free husband, John Tubman.

Information

Address

White Marsh Road
Madison, MD 21648

GPS Coordinates: 38.491430,-76.216678

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  • Parking on site

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9. Malone’s Church2023-05-26T11:28:56-04:00
7 12, 2016

10. Madison

2023-05-26T11:28:11-04:00

10. Madison

Roots of Family and Community

Harriet Tubman spent her formative years around Madison. After living in Bucktown as a young child and adolescent, teenaged Harriet Tubman was hired out to work for John T. Stewart, who owned farms, a shipyard and businesses here. She toiled in the Stewarts’ house (no longer standing), then in their fields, on the docks and in their timber business.

Working for the Stewarts brought Harriet back near the community where her father lived and where she had been born. Tubman’s father, Ben Ross, was set free in 1840, and he worked in Stewart’s lumbering operation. Harriet learned important outdoor survival skills while laboring with her father in the woods, such as how to navigate by the stars, and find food and fresh water. These skills later proved vital as she confidently guided passengers along the Underground Railroad to freedom.

Harriet Tubman successfully led away Winnebar Johnson, enslaved by Samuel Harrington, from here in early June 1854. Johnson later passed through Underground Railroad agent William Still’s office in Philadelphia, where Still noted that Johnson had been “brought away by his sister Harriet two weeks ago.” Johnson was passed along to the bustling port of New Bedford in Massachusetts, where he lived and worked with other freedom seekers, some from Dorchester County.

In December 1854, Tubman had a coded letter sent to Jacob Jackson, a free black farmer who lived west of Madison. The postmaster read the letter and confronted Jackson, who denied knowing what it meant. But Jackson quickly notified Tubman’s brothers that she planned to lead them north from their parents’ home at Poplar Neck in Caroline County. When Harriet Tubman’s three brothers made it to freedom in Philadelphia, they chose as their aliases: James Stewart, John Stewart, and William Henry Stewart – the names of the white Stewart brothers.

Information

Address

MD Route 16, and Madison Canning House Rd.
Madison, MD 21648

GPS Coordinates: 38.507786,-76.222721

Practical info
  • Parking
  • Camping
  • Water Access
  • Restaurant nearby

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10. Madison2023-05-26T11:28:11-04:00
7 12, 2016

11. Joseph Stewart’s Canal

2023-05-26T11:27:10-04:00

11. Joseph Stewart’s Canal

Danger and Drudgery in the Marshes

Drive-by Access Only

Over a period of 20 years, 1810-1832, enslaved and free blacks dug this seven-mile canal through the marsh by hand. It was a grueling and sometimes deadly endeavor. The wealthy, powerful, and slave-holding Stewart family owned large tracts of timber, shipyards, a store, and a mill near here. Joseph Stewart, Anthony Thompson, and nearby landowners designed this canal to float their logs and agricultural products to the ships at nearby wharves in Madison Bay.

Through her work on the docks and in the forests, Harriet learned the secret networks of communication that were the provenance of African-American men, particularly those employed as mariners, carrying timber and other goods to cities and towns around the Chesapeake Bay and into Delaware, Pennsylvania and New England. Beyond the watchful eye of white masters, they spoke of freedom in the North, the safe places along the way and the dangers in between. Feeding her own growing resentment of slavery’s injustices, the free world beyond the shores of Dorchester County emboldened Harriet.

In December 1854, after she had escaped to the north, Tubman communicated to her three brothers through Jacob Jackson, a Madison resident and free black veterinarian. Hearing through the secret maritime communication network that her brothers were about to be sold, she let Jackson know through a coded letter that she was ready to rescue them. Jackson lived south of this canal, and his former home site is now protected as part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park.

Information

Address

MD Route 16 and Parsons Creek
Taylors Island, MD 21669

GPS Coordinates: 38.488349,-76.262765

Practical info
  • No parking
  • No public access

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11. Joseph Stewart’s Canal2023-05-26T11:27:10-04:00
7 12, 2016

12. New Revived United Methodist Church

2023-05-26T11:26:03-04:00

12. New Revived United Methodist Church

The New Revived United Methodist Church, once known as Jefferson Methodist Episcopal Church, was established in Smithville in 1876. Before the Civil War, Methodist Camp Meetings were popular in the area.

Following the Civil War, four African-American churches, including this one, were built in nearby local communities. In1864, Malone Methodist Episcopal Church on White Marsh Road was the first to be established, followed by Christ Rock Methodist Episcopal Church near Cambridge in 1875, then Jefferson Methodist Episcopal Church here in 1876, and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Harrisville in 1880.

One by one, the churches closed their doors following World War II as families moved away and the number of congregants declined. Today, people from each of these four congregations are part of the New Revived United Methodist Church congregation. Harriet Tubman’s brother, William Henry Ross Stewart, married Harriet
Parker, a free woman from Smithville, around 1850. In late 1854, Harriet Tubman helped three of her brothers escape to Canada, including William Henry. His wife joined him with their two small children in 1855. Marriages between members of these neighboring communities illustrate the social interaction between free and enslaved people before the end of the Civil War and emancipation.

Information

Address

4350 Smithville Road
Taylors Island, MD 21669

GPS Coordinates: 38.473371,-76.274383

Practical info
  • Parking
  • Small craft launch

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12. New Revived United Methodist Church2023-05-26T11:26:03-04:00
7 12, 2016

13. Buttons Creek

2023-05-26T11:24:51-04:00

13. Buttons Creek

The Art of Disguise

Jane Kane was enslaved by Horatio Jones, whom she described as “the worst man in the country.” Jones’ plantation sat along Buttons Creek and the Blackwater River, west of this landing on property that is now part of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Harriet Tubman’s brother, Ben Ross, had hoped to marry Jane, but Jones refused to allow them to do so. Ben arranged for Jane to join him when he and his brothers planned to flee during the Christmas holidays in 1854.

Just before the escape, Ben hid a suit of men’s clothing in one of Jones’ gardens. On Christmas Eve, Jane put on the clothes and slipped quietly away from the plantation. Though she was soon discovered missing, the other slaves on the farm failed to recognize that the “young man” walking up from the garden, “as if from the river,” was actually Jane. Cleverly disguised in men’s clothing, she successfully executed a daring plan to flee her heartless master. She was soon on her way to be with Ben and to secretly rendezvous with Harriet Tubman at Poplar Neck in Caroline County.

This site can be viewed by canoe, kayak or small boat on one of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge’s water trails. Stop at the boat launch on Route 335 near the state park.

Information

Address

MD Route 335 and Blackwater River, Church Creek, MD 21622

GPS Coordinates: 38.439327,-76.1451

Practical info
  • Kayak/canoe launch
  • Parking

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13. Buttons Creek2023-05-26T11:24:51-04:00
7 12, 2016

14. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center

2023-05-26T11:22:53-04:00

14. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center

Honoring a Hero

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm. Closed Monday. No reservations needed.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is located amid the landscapes where Tubman lived and toiled. The unspoiled scenes in the area look much as they would have in Tubman’s time. The Tubman Visitor Center features 10,000 square feet of engaging, enlightening multimedia exhibits about her life. It’s a great stop itself and a great launching point for exploring the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway, a scenic, self-guided driving tour that includes 36 sites related to Tubman and the Underground Railroad on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, with more sites in Delaware leading to Philadelphia.

The visitor center is open 10am-4pm, Tuesday through Sunday. No reservations needed. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Exhibits feature information about Tubman’s childhood and young adulthood, living and laboring under slavery here in Dorchester County and neighboring Caroline County. The center immerses visitors in the secret networks of the Underground Railroad and Tubman’s own daring rescue missions. Exhibits also feature Tubman’s actions during the Civil War, and her later years as a suffragist, civil rights worker and humanitarian. The exhibits emphasize her values of faith, family, community, and freedom. Tubman’s story is still relevant today, transcending race, gender, age, religion, and nationality — and shows us that regardless of circumstances, you can make choices that positively impact others.

The 10,000-square-foot visitor center includes exhibits as well as a theater that tell the stories of Harriet Tubman’s life and work. It also includes a classroom, gift shop, and library. If you’re bringing children, be sure to stop by the front desk and ask about the Junior Ranger program. The state park’s 17 acres include a meditation garden, nature trails and a 2,600-square-foot outdoor pavilion (for gatherings of no more than 75 people) available by rental (email htursp.dnr@maryland.gov for details). The center includes state-of-the-art green elements such as bioretention ponds, rain barrels and vegetative roofs.

To request a tour for a group, complete the tour request form.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is operated by the Maryland Park Service in partnership with the National Park Service to honor Harriet Tubman. It opened to the public in March 2017. For more information, go to the Tubman Visitor Center website.

Information

Address

4068 Golden Hill Road
Church Creek, MD 21622

Get Directions

GPS Coordinates: 38.448304,-76.138687

Practical info
  • Parking
  • Restrooms
  • Gift shop
  • Trails

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14. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center2023-05-26T11:22:53-04:00
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