Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument & Historic Park
Harriet Tubman, a conductor on the Underground Railroad, was born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. She escaped slavery at age 27, in 1849, but returned to Dorchester and Caroline counties an estimated 13 times over the next decade to help enslaved people escape to the North. During the Civil War, she was a nurse, and in later years, Tubman worked for women's rights.
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As a member of a coalition of partners, Chesapeake Conservancy garnered support for the Harriet Tubman National Monument, designated by President Barrack Obama in 2013. The site then became part of the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in 2014, following The Conservation Fund's generous donation of 480 acres.
Today, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, National Historical Park, and Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park preserve the landscape characteristics of Tubman’s early home of Dorchester, Talbot and Caroline counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in New York was also established to include sites related to her later home and achievements.
As the first national park honoring a Black woman in the United States, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park is a national model for the conservation of landscapes paired with significant cultural and natural heritage. Its proximity also complements the nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, providing large landscape conservation for one of the nation's premier waterfowl habitats and bird-watching destinations.
The 15,000-square-foot LEED silver-rated visitor center, which opened in 2017 and was funded in part by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, is managed through a partnership between the Maryland Park Service and the National Park Service.
Take a trip to Church Creek, just 12 miles from Cambridge, Maryland, to see this tribute to a great American heroine and immerse yourselfin the beauty of the park and and nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
Feature Photo by Peter Turcik
