MD Scenic Byways • Digital Guide • Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

Journey back in time to pre-Civil War America. Explore the secret network of trails, waterways and safe houses used by enslaved people fleeing north to escape slavery.

hailed as “the Moses of Her People,” Harriet Tubman was a heroic leader in the fight against slavery. Her selfless efforts helped more than 70 enslaved people make their way north by way of the Underground Railroad. This Eastern Shore byway traverses a region abundant with African-American heritage, following a mostly northern path across a landscape that has changed little in the 150 years since Tubman and others risked their lives for freedom.

Your journey begins inside the Cambridge-based Visitor Center at Sailwinds Park East, where staff members offer insight into the historic landmarks you encounter along the way. What lies outside, beyond the Choptank River Bridge, are museums, home sites, meeting houses and other landscapes that take travelers back to the 1850s.

Visit the Dorchester County Courthouse, which was once the site of slave auctions and trials. Just a short walk away is the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center, dedicated to preserving Tubman’s legacy as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. After the museum, enjoy pleasant dining, galleries and shopping.

Cambridge is also in the Heart of Chesapeake Country Heritage Area and provides convenient entry points to recreational opportunities on the water.

Follow the byway west, and visit Stanley Institute, a one-room, African-American school established by the newly freed black community just after the Civil War.

In Madison, Tubman learned navigation and survival skills while working beside her father, Ben Ross. Drive over Joseph Stewart’s Canal, hand-dug by enslaved people and used to transport timber.

Next, explore the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. Here you will find exhibits and programs that describe Harriet’s life as an enslaved child and young adult, and her determination and skills that effectuated her escape. Then, discover the water trails of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and observe nature along Wildlife Drive.

In Bucktown, a village store marks the spot where, as a teenager, Tubman, in her first act of defiance, was nearly killed when she tried to help an enslaved man avoid capture. An overseer struck her head with a two-pound weight, leading to lifelong health issues. Guided historic and nature tours, as well as bike, canoe and kayak rentals, are also offered in Bucktown.

With the southern portion of your trip completed, head north to the East New Market National Historic District, stopping for antiques shopping along the way and then taking a self-guided walking tour amid fine examples of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century architecture. Once in town, look for Faith Community United Methodist Church located near an old train station.

Faith Community was built in 1880 on land deeded four decades earlier to a group of African-American trustees, including the Rev. Samuel Green, a free black farmer and Underground Railroad agent.

Continue to Linchester, the home of a historic grist mill that employed both free and enslaved African Americans. A strong Quaker settlement is revealed through the home of Quaker abolitionists Jacob and Hannah Leverton and at the site of a former Quaker meeting house at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, likely a hiding place along the Underground Railroad.

Near the town of Preston, the 1852 James Webb Cabin is the only surviving pre-Civil War log dwelling on the Eastern Shore known to be constructed by and for an African American. Built on ballast stones from ships, the cabin stands along what may have been an Underground Railroad route used by Harriet Tubman and her parents.

The next stop is Denton, which features many ties to the Underground Railroad. Courthouse Square was the site of a slave market and a jail that held Underground Railroad conductors. The nearby Tuckahoe Neck Meeting House was built in 1803 and featured prominent Quaker women speakers who knew Tubman, and the Museum of Rural Life includes exhibits about the Underground Railroad and local African-Americans.

From Denton, head west to Ad kins Arboretum in Ridgely, where you can explore environments like Tubman would have traversed during her escape. An Underground Railroad audio tour guides visitors along trails through woods, wetlands and fields to discover plants that could have been used for food and medicine. It also describes dangers and environmental barriers to a successful escape.

Another option is to continue north through the historic towns of Greensboro and Goldsboro before reaching the Mason and Dixon line along the Delaware border.

Harriet Tubman died on March 10,1913 at the New York rest home that she founded to assist indigent and aged African Americans. A celebrated suffragist in later years, Tubman was believed to be 91 years old at the time of her death.

HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD VISITOR CENTER
4068 Golden Hill Road Church Creek, MD 21622 410-221-2290

For information about amenities found along this byway, please refer to the chart on page 62.

From Linchester, a quick detour takes you to Poplar Neck, a mid-19th-century farmstead where Tubman's father was employed and operated as an Underground Railroad agent. Visit a small waterfront park in the town of Choptank for a sweeping view of the Choptank River before proceeding to Preston.

Several hotels and campsites are found along this byway, with the greatest concentration in Cambridge and Denton. Both towns also provide opportunities to enjoy arts, culture, shopping and fine dining.

MD Scenic Byways - Digital Guide

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

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