Learn more about abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass and his connections to Maryland’s Eastern Shore during walking tours on Oct. 19 and 20. The tours include several stops that are part of the Harriet Tubman Byway.
SATURDAY, OCT. 19
Take a closer look at the lost local history of the Shore through modern and antiquarian perspectives on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 9am to 2pm with local walking tours which include the Dorchester and Caroline County court houses, Long Wharf, Denton Steamboat Wharf, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church and Waugh Chapel in Cambridge.
The tour of Cambridge will include visit to Harriet Tubman Mural at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center at 424 Race Street downtown.
Tour will include walking tour of Cambridge followed by bus transportation to Denton for a walking tour. Bus will return to Cambridge where late lunch at Snapper’s Waterfront Cafe is voluntary.
Learn connections that Frederick Douglass maintained to communities in Cambridge and Denton throughout his entire life from Wye House playmate Daniel Lloyd to the centuries-long sustained friendship of the Douglass (Bailey) Family to the Waymans of Caroline County to Bishop John Fletcher Hurst, founder of American University, to Rev. Henry Augustus Monroe, drummer boy for the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.
Start the day at the Heritage Museums & Gardens of Dorchester, 1003 Greenway Dr. in Cambridge, MD. Free parking is available on site.
Total walking is 3 to 4 miles. Not recommended for individuals with mobility issues. Bus will seat total of 15. Waiting list will be generated in event of sellout. Group rates may apply. Rain or shine.
Tickets cost $50 per person. Find details and buy tickets.
SUNDAY, OCT. 20
Following the successful presentation of “Lost History: Frederick Douglass in Caroline County” this past February at the Denton Library, local historian John Muller returns to town to offer a unique walking tour for students and seniors alike interested in learning more.
Join local history enthusiasts and community leaders for a debut waking tour detailing a previously unknown high-profile visit Dr. Douglass made to Denton, Maryland in the fall of 1883. Arriving by train and escorted through town by a brass band from nearby Centerville, Douglass spoke at the old county courthouse in a political rally before departing by steamboat.
Learn more about the many connections Douglass had to Denton and Caroline County from his childhood and through his wife and close friends from Caroline County.
Tour will begin at the Wharves of Choptank Visitor & Heritage Center, 3 Crouse Park Lane in Denton, MD, and conclude outside of the Union Bethel AME Church in Historic Denton.
Total walking is under two miles. If inclement weather, the tour will be re-scheduled. Tickets cost $15 per person; free for students of Caroline County Public Schools. Buy tickets.
The tours will be led by John Muller, who has presented widely throughout the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area at venues including the Library of Congress, Newseum, Politics and Prose, American Library in Paris and local universities. He is currently working on a book about the lost history of Frederick Douglass on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.