Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway

01/15/2025

Looking for something meaningful to do for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend? There are two events happening along the Harriet Tubman Byway in Dorchester County, Maryland:
>> Saturday, Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
11am at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek. Join Park Rangers with a reading of "Martin’s Big Words." After the reading, all are welcome to write and decorate letters to lonely and isolated seniors. Letter writing will be available all day with all supplies provided.
>> Sunday, Jan. 19: MLK Celebration at Harriet Tubman Freedom Center in Cambridge from 2 to 4pm. Featuring motivational speaker and MLK impersonator Rev. Dr. John Moore, with the theme "Extending the Dream." The event includes a meal. Find out more: facebook.com/events/559936486860293
>> Explore the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Byway, with sites and stops related to Tubman and the Underground Railroad. TubmanByway.org.

01/13/2025

Did you know? History.com includes Harriet Tubman in their list of “7 disabled people who changed history.”
>> Read more: history.co.uk/articles/disabled-people-who-changed-history

01/10/2025

Make your Martin Luther King Jr. weekend more meaningful – head to the MLK Celebration at the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center in Cambridge, Maryland on Jan. 19 from 2 to 4pm. Featuring motivational speaker and MLK impersonator Rev. Dr. John Moore, with the theme "Extending the Dream." The event includes a meal.
>> Find out more: facebook.com/events/559936486860293
>> The Freedom Center is along the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Byway, so you can make it a day or a weekend of learning and growing. Plan your road trip along the Tubman Byway at HarrietTubmanByway.org.

01/07/2025

The Harriet Tubman sculpture, "Beacon of Hope," in yesterday's snowstorm in Cambridge, Maryland – at Stop #3 along the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Byway. Did you know that Tubman led most of her journeys to freedom in the wintertime? That way, the nights, when they did most of their traveling, were longer. And the marshes were less buggy.
>> Read more about how weather played a part in Tubman's Underground Railroad work: accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/the-role-weather-played-in-the-underground-railroad/688283

12/31/2024

Don't forget – First Day Hike at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center in Church Creek, Maryland – January 1 at 10am!

Join us at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park on January 1, at 10 a.m. for a First Day Hike led by our park rangers. This 2.5-mile, flat, and paved hike will take you into the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on their Wildlife Drive. As you walk along the Blackwater River, you'll be immersed in the beautiful landscape that helped shape Harriet Tubman. This hike is stroller and wheelchair accessible, and no registration is required. All are welcome to join!

12/24/2024

The amazing story of the Christmas escape that Harriet Tubman led in 1854....

THE CHRISTMAS ESCAPE OF 1854
One hundred seventy Decembers ago, a trio of brothers got some terrifying news. All three brothers were slaves on the Eastern Shore, owned by the same guy, and that guy planned to put them up on the auction block the day after Christmas. They would almost certainly be torn away from friends and family, shipped way down South.

Those brothers had one thing going for them--a sister they hadn't seen in a few years. She had "moved" north a few years before, and changed her name to Harriet Tubman.

It's a holiday tradition around here, posting free book excerpts that tell the story of a flight to freedom that might well rank as the most famous operation in the career of Harriet Tubman.

In my book, "Tubman Travels: 32 Underground Railroad Journeys on Delmarva," I tell the story in three parts to try and do justice to all of its intricate parts--the romance, the heartbreak, the high-stakes drama, the ingenuity, and the family devotion. Here you go:

Part one, "The Good Ol' Ship of Zion":
https://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/tubman-travels-good-ol-ship-of-zion/

Part two, "Love Stories at Buttons Creek":
https://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/tubman-travels-love-stories/

Part three, "Flying for Freedom on Christmas Eve":
https://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/tubman-christmas-escape-1854/

Info on the book and where to buy it:
https://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/shore-store/books/tubman-travels/

12/23/2024

Last chance to join the Christmas Eve Walk with the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center! Dec. 24 at 3pm starting in Preston, Maryland.
>> Details at harriettubmanmuseumcenter.org/

12/20/2024

Learn about Harriet Tubman's Christmas Eve escape during this Living History program at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center Dec. 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 1pm.

12/18/2024

It’s time to begin planning heritage projects in Dorchester County’s Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area! Are you working on a project that will protect and celebrate Maryland’s unique history, cultural traditions, or natural resources? Or are you developing a project that will create heritage tourism or education opportunities? The MHAA FY26 grant round for capital and non-capital heritage projects is now open. The first step in the application process is the required Intent to Apply form, due by January 27. More information about the MHAA grant program, as well as links to the forms, can be found here: https://bit.ly/MHAA_GrantProgram

12/18/2024

Time is running out to purchase the Harriet Tubman commemorative coins from the United States Mint. The program ends Dec. 31, 2024.
>> Read more about the coins: numismaticnews.net/us-coins/last-chance-to-own-harriet-tubman-commemorative-coins
>> How to purchase: usmint.gov/coins/commemorative-coins/harriet-tubman

12/12/2024

The Christmas Eve Walk with the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center is coming up soon on Maryland's Eastern Shore! Time to reserve your spot!

Let us know if you’re joining the walk? We’ve received donations and can reduce further donations to $20 per person and free for children of all ages. We’ll need a count to determine if a bus will be provided for return trip. harriettubmanmuseumcenter.org

12/06/2024

This Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1pm, head to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center for a talk by Philip Hesser about Harriet Tubman's life after the Underground Railroad.
>> Plan your road trip to Tubman Country at HarrietTubmanByway.org.
>> While you're in the area, combine history and the holidays. See the Dorchester County Holiday Guide at bit.ly/DoCoHolidays2024

11/30/2024

🎄🦀While you're exploring the Harriet Tubman Byway on Maryland's Eastern Shore, be sure to stop in Downtown Cambridge to experience the Crab Basket Tree - constructed by volunteers out of 200 bushel baskets used for crabbing! Enjoy some local seafood while you're at i! 🎄🦀
🎀 Find more holiday attractions and events in the Dorchester Holiday Guide: bit.ly/DoCoHolidays2024
🚗 Plan your road trip at HarrietTubmanByway.org.

🎄🦀 ICYMI: The great Crab Basket Tree of Cambridge went up yesterday, thanks to the hard work of a team of volunteers who have been adding this joy to our holiday season for a decade! Let's hear it for Brandon Hesson and his team of volunteers!
🦀 You can see the Crab Basket Tree in the parking lot of Craig's Drug Store at 409 Race St., Cambridge.
🎀 More reason to head to Cambridge: Today is Small Business Saturday! Support our local, independently owned businesses! Plus, some merchants have special sales today!
🎄 All are welcome to come and take a selfie at the Crab Tree! See what other holiday fun is going on around Dorchester County with our Holiday Guide: bit.ly/DoCoHolidays2024

📷 Jameson Harrington

11/26/2024

The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center leads a Christmas Eve Walk Dec. 24 from Mount Pleasant Cemetery to Choptank Landing (both sites along the Harriet Tubman Byway), to honor Harriet Tubman, who led her third rescue mission on Christmas Eve, 1854. There will be a musical presentation at the cemetery and a lotus flower release ceremony at the landing. $40 donation per adult; children free.
>> Register at harriettubmanmuseumcenter.org (click on events).

Images courtesy Harriet Tubman Museum.

11/22/2024

Here's what's coming up at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center in Church Creek, MD – Stop #14 along the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Byway.
>> Plan your trip at HarrietTubmanByway.org.

11/15/2024

Happenings this weekend at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center in Church Creek, MD – Stop #14 along the road trip known as the Harriet Tubman Byway.
>> Plan your trip at HarrietTubmanByway.org.