Imagine standing in a dark marsh at night.
The wind moves through the reeds. Somewhere in the distance, an owl calls. The ground beneath your feet is damp. The sky is wide and moonlit. You don’t know what tomorrow holds — only that turning back is not an option.
This is the landscape that shaped Harriet Tubman.
March is Harriet Tubman Month in Dorchester County, Maryland — the place where she was born in March 1822 and where she returned again and again to lead others to freedom. It is also the month she passed from this world (March 10, 1913), leaving behind a legacy that continues to grow more powerful with each generation.
In 2026, we invite you not just to learn about Harriet Tubman — but to step into her world.
A Museum Transformed: Experience the Story in a New Way
After nearly a year of being closed following unexpected water damage, the Harriet Tubman Museum & Education Center in Cambridge will have a soft re-opening on March 28 — and visitors will encounter something entirely new.
What was once a small, simple museum has been reimagined as an immersive journey. Murals will stretch across walls, floors, and ceilings. Carefully designed lighting evokes the tension and uncertainty of nighttime journeys through the marsh. Video installations bring voices and stories to life. Sound effects deepen the atmosphere, inviting you to imagine what it might have felt like to prepare for an escape under cover of darkness.
The story itself has not changed — but the way we experience it has. For those who have visited before, this is a reason to return. For those who have not yet made the trip, 2026 is the perfect time. Watch for details and updates on the Tubman Museum’s Facebook page.
Mark Your Calendar: Meaningful March Events
Harriet Tubman Month is more than reflection — it is celebration, education, and community. Here are some ways to take part through special events this month:
Harriet Tubman Day
March 7, 11am–4pm
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center
Church Creek, Maryland
Celebrate Harriet Tubman Day at the state park built in the heart of the landscape she once knew. Standing at the Visitor Center — surrounded by open skies, marshes, and waterways — history feels close. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center honors Harriet Tubman Day with an emphasis on Roots, Resilience and Responsibility.
Programming includes:
11 am: In Eternal Tribute: A Legacy Memorial Dedication – honoring the esteemed local icon and advocate, the late Ms. Shirley Jackson, into the center’s Legacy Garden memorial.
12 pm: A Journey towards the Orphans Court – Join in for an inspiring presentation with George Ames, Chief Judge of the Dorchester County Orphans Court, as he reflects on a life dedicated to service, leadership, and character.
1 pm: Mapping Resistance along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and Eastern Shore – Discover places along the Harriet Tubman Byway that highlight themes of resistance and community with Harriet Tubman as well as Network To Freedom sites where other resistance occurred in the Eastern Shore.
2 pm: Of Pine Street – Join David “Nicky” Henry and William Jarmon for a cultural experience in an African American community known as the Second Ward of Cambridge, Maryland, time period 1800s to the 1960s.
3 pm: Beyond Spirituals: Black Folk Music Before the Civil War – Join Ranger Robin to explore the unseen African origins of the banjo and the festival music enslaved people made for it before the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman Awards Banquet
March 14, 3pm
This banquet honors individuals who embody Tubman’s legacy of courage, leadership, and service. It is a powerful reminder that her spirit of perseverance and advocacy lives on today. Guest performers are David and Linda Cole. Honorees include Gregory Meekins, Gov. Wes Moore, Harriet Tubman Family, Bertha Robinson, Linda Cole, William Jarmon, Dr. Berkley and Kalinda Dickerson, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and New Beginnings Chad Green and Goldie Cooper. At the Elks Lodge, 618 Pine St. Cambridge, Maryland. Tickets cost $30 per person: Cash App $KCornisha or buy at the Tubman Museum, 424 Race St., Cambridge, Maryland.
Soft Reopening of the Harriet Tubman Museum
March 28, 12pm
Cambridge, Maryland
The Harriet Tubman Museum & Education Center in Cambridge, Maryland, is the museum that has been honoring Tubman’s legacy the longest in this region. Started in the 1980s by dedicated volunteers, it continues to be an all-volunteer operation in a historic building in Downtown Cambridge. Be among the first to experience the museum’s newly transformed interior and immersive storytelling environment. From 12pm to 1:30pm on March 28, come to the museum for a presentation of the interactive artwork and construction updates by Michael Rosato, along with other contractors; a sneak peek into future museum activities and exhibits by Linda Harris; and a history of the Museum shared by Bill Jarmon, Executive Director. Following the program, the museum will be open to the public from 1:30 to 3pm, offering attendees the first opportunity to view the newly installed exhibits. This event is free and open to the public.
The celebration will continue that evening with a concert by the Eric Byrd Trio from 6 to 8pm at the Michener Library at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort in Cambridge. A donation of $25 per person is requested.
Watch for updates on the Tubman Museum’s Facebook page.
Walk the Ground That Trained a Hero
Long before she became known as “Moses,” Harriet Tubman learned the woods, waterways, and wildlife of Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The vast marshlands, dense forests, and quiet back roads were not just scenery — they were her classroom.
She understood how to move silently through wetlands. She knew which routes offered cover. She famously used the call of a Barred Owl to signal when it was safe for freedom seekers to emerge from hiding. Today, those same birds still inhabit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The same horizon stretches wide over the marsh. The same rivers wind through the land.
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway traces 125 miles through Maryland, Delaware, and into Pennsylvania, connecting more than 45 significant sites along the path to freedom. But it begins here — in the county where her strength was forged.
Visit the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park & Visitor Center for an essential introduction to her life and the broader story of the Underground Railroad. Stop by Bucktown General Store, site of her first recorded act of defiance. Stand before the “Beacon of Hope” sculpture at the Dorchester County Courthouse — once the site of slave auctions. Explore murals and public art throughout Cambridge that continue to honor her legacy.
You can explore for a few hours, a full day, or an entire weekend. Each stop adds another layer to the story. Start planning your road trip on our sister website, where you’ll find free maps and guides as well as an excellent audio guide.
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A County of Remarkable Women
It feels especially fitting that Harriet Tubman Month falls during Women’s History Month.
While Tubman’s legacy stands at the forefront, she is not the only extraordinary woman connected to Dorchester County. Sharpshooter Annie Oakley once called the area home. Anna Ella Carroll, a key advisor to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, also had deep ties to this region.
In downtown Cambridge, the Dorchester Women’s Mural celebrates a dozen women — past and present — whose lives have shaped our community in meaningful ways. See it on the side of 518 Poplar St., (the Main Street Gallery) in Cambridge, Maryland.
This small, rural county has produced women of remarkable courage, intellect, and influence. Harriet Tubman simply shines the brightest among them.
Why March Matters
There is something powerful about experiencing Harriet Tubman’s story in the very place where it unfolded.
Here, the landscape is not a backdrop — it is a participant in the story. The marsh is not symbolic — it is real. The distance between towns is not abstract — you can drive it, walk it, feel it.
In March, as winter begins to loosen its grip and the marsh slowly awakens, Dorchester County pauses to remember a woman who refused to accept the limits placed upon her — and who returned, again and again, to lead others toward freedom.
Take a few hours — or an entire weekend — to encounter the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman in the place she called home.
Because some stories are best understood where they began — in the landscape that shaped them.
Plan Your Harriet Tubman Road Trip
Ready to experience Tubman’s world for yourself?
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway stretches 125 miles through Maryland’s Eastern Shore, into Delaware, and up to Philadelphia — connecting more than 45 significant sites along the path to freedom.
Begin your journey in Dorchester County, where Tubman was born and where her courage was forged. Then follow the route northward, exploring historic towns, waterways, and landscapes that still echo with her story.
Explore our website and download the free byway map and guide and to access the excellent audio tour. The audio guide brings each stop to life with narration, history, and context — turning a simple drive into a meaningful, self-paced experience.
Take a day. Take a weekend. Bring your family. Bring a friend. Some journeys change the way you see history. This is one of them.