Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
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Name	Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Location	Dorchester County, Maryland, United States
Nearest city	Cambridge, Maryland
Area	1.7 acres (National Historical Park core)
Established	March 25, 2013
Governing body	National Park Service

Contents

Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park honoring the life, work, and legacy of abolitionist and conductor on the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman. The park preserves sites in Dorchester County, Maryland associated with Tubman's early life, religious activity, and leadership in abolitionist networks during the antebellum period and the American Civil War. It complements nearby Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park and related cultural heritage sites in the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula.

Overview

The park comprises preserved properties and interpretive facilities in Cambridge, Maryland, including the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged and related structures tied to Tubman's later life, local institutions, and national preservation organizations. Administratively, the park is managed by the National Park Service in partnership with Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, and local historical societies such as the Dorchester County Historical Society. Interpretive programming connects Tubman's work to events such as the Abolitionist movement, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and campaigns for civil rights that involved figures like Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Exhibits situate Tubman's biography alongside societal forces like the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and military actions including the Raid at Combahee Ferry.

Local preservation efforts began with community leaders, descendants, and organizations such as the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. and the National Trust for Historic Preservation advocating to protect Tubman-associated sites. Legislation introduced in the United States Congress and supported by legislators from Maryland's congressional delegation led to designation efforts culminating in the park's establishment by the National Park Service in 2013 during the administration of President Barack Obama. The site followed decades of activism by historians, preservationists, and scholars influenced by works from authors like Sarah H. Bradford, Kate Clifford Larson, Catherine Clinton, and archival efforts at institutions such as the Library of Congress and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The park's creation involved coordination with the Maryland Historical Trust and municipal authorities in Cambridge, Maryland and occurred amid broader commemorative initiatives that included listings on the National Register of Historic Places and programs by the Smithsonian Institution.

Key resources include the restored Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, the adjacent interpretation center, and properties connected to Tubman's activism, worship, and community leadership in Dorchester County, Maryland. The park's interpretive exhibits reference Tubman's participation in the Underground Railroad, her role as a scout and nurse with the United States Colored Troops, and the Combahee River Raid led with abolitionist allies like James Montgomery (abolitionist) and information about contemporaries such as Thomas Garrett and William Still. The site connects to regional locations including Johns Island, Sandy Point State Park, and waterways like the Choptank River and the Nanticoke River used in escape routes. Visitors encounter material culture and archival collections related to Tubman's family members—Rit Greene, Ben Ross, Mary Pattison (Tubman)—and artifacts conserved in collaboration with museums such as the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Society.

Programming includes educational partnerships with universities like University of Maryland, Howard University, Morgan State University, and Towson University for research on 19th-century bondage, emancipation, and Reconstruction. Interpretive staff highlight Tubman's affiliations with religious congregations such as Eastern Methodist Episcopal Church and social movements involving leaders like William Lloyd Garrison and institutions such as Abolitionist Societies.

The park memorializes Tubman's multifaceted roles as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a Union spy and scout during the American Civil War, and a veteran leader in movements for women's suffrage alongside activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It symbolizes national recognition of African American resistance to slavery and commemorates influences on later civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. The preservation of Tubman sites contributes to scholarship on antebellum slavery, emancipation, and African diaspora history promoted by research centers like the Institute for Research in African-American Studies and policy initiatives from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Interpretive narratives address legislation and events—Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Thirteenth Amendment, and Reconstruction-era policies—that shaped the world Tubman navigated. The park also fosters remembrance through commemorative events that involve organizations such as the National Council for the Social Studies, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, and peer institutions including the Salem State University Museum.

The park is located in downtown Cambridge, Maryland and is accessible via state routes connecting to U.S. Route 50 and nearby airports such as Salisbury–Ocean City–Wicomico Regional Airport. Visitors may explore exhibits at the visitor center, guided tours, educational programs, and commemorative events coordinated with partners including the National Park Service, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, and local schools. Nearby accommodations and related sites include the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, historic districts in Cambridge, Maryland, and interpretive trails on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and Chesapeake Bay. Seasonal hours, guided tour schedules, and accessibility services are provided on-site by park staff in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Category:National Historical Parks of the United States Category:Harriet Tubman Category:Protected areas of Dorchester County, Maryland