Since opening in March 2017, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center has welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors from all 50 states and over 60 countries. Join in the celebration featuring interesting talks and family-friendly activities during their one-year anniversary weekend on March 10-11, 2018. March 10 is also considered Harriet Tubman Day, since it marks the anniversary of her death in 1913 (her exact birthdate is unknown).
The Visitor Center is Site #13 along the Harriet Tubman Byway, a scenic, self-guided driving tour of 36 historically sites on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For events happening at the Visitor Center, see the events listed below or download the PDF. There are also special happenings planned by these three Tubman Byway sites:
- The Bucktown Village Store (Site #17 on the Tubman Byway) will be open March 10 and 11 from 9am to 5pm. It is usually open only by appointment this time of year. Learn more about this historic site.
- The Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center (Site #5 along the byway), run by devoted volunteers who have been sharing Tubman’s stories for decades, will be open on Sunday, March 11, from 10am to 4pm (they’re usually closed on Sundays). Learn more about the museum.
- New Revived United Methodist Church (Site #11 on the Tubman Byway) will host the acclaimed gospel group The Victorian Singers on March 10 at 4pm. The church is located at 4350 Smithville Rd, Taylors Island, MD 21669. Learn more about the church.
- The Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center, which has been celebrating Tubman for decades, holds its annual Tubman Banquet from 2:45 to 5:30pm on Saturday, March 10, in Cambridge, MD. Keynote speaker will be Vincent Leggett, author of Blacks of the Chesapeake. Details.
- There are also special events happening on March 10 in Delaware, where the Tubman Byway continues. See the special events and read about the 10 women who are ending their 100-mile walk of the Tubman Byway in Wilmington on March 10.
SHUTTLES: On Saturday, March 10, and Sunday, March 11, Harriet Tubman Tours will be offering a shuttle service between Cambridge (stops at the Tubman Museum and four hotels) and the Tubman Visitor Center in Church Creek (about a 20-25 minute drive). $10 per person roundtrip. See the stops and find out more.
NOTE: If you’re coming for the anniversary, be sure to check out the discount travel package being offered by our partners at Dorchester County Tourism — especially for Tubman Travelers. Find out more.
Below is the schedule of events happening March 10-11, 2018, 9am to 5pm at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center, 4068 Golden Hill Rd., Church Creek, MD 21622.
Meet Harriet Tubman
Re-enactor Millicent Sparks performs her interpretation of Tubman and her monumental life.
Saturday, 9-10am
Sunday, 9-10am
Become a Junior Ranger
Does your child have what it takes to be a Junior Ranger? Start their Tubman experience by requesting the self-guided booklet at the Visitor Services desk. Upon completion participants take the Junior Ranger pledge, get a souvenir hat and a patch to remember their day in Tubman Country!
Saturday and Sunday: 9am-4pm (self-guided program, arrive anytime)
Bound for the Promised Land: Portrait of an American Hero
Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, the Visitor Center’s historical consultant, will present her book Bound for the Promised Land: Portrait of an American Hero. Learn new information and hear about her research methods to uncover new facts about Tubman. Dr. Larson will be signing copies of her book.
Saturday, 10am-11am, book signing from 11am to 12pm in the library
Sunday, 10am-11am, book signing from 11am to 12pm in the library
The View North
Chris Elcock, Senior Associate at GWWO, Inc., Architects, the team behind the design of the Visitor Center will present The View North. Discover the hidden symbolism in the building and surrounding landscape of the park. Saturday, 11am-12pm
Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Concert Choir
Join the UMES Concert Choir for a more intimate encore performance of the concert performed for the Grand Opening of the Visitor Center.
Saturday, 12-1pm
Games Enslaved Children Played
Learn from park rangers the significance and history of games that enslaved children played. Participants will learn about the importance of community, family and friends to enslaved children. Create your own piece of art to remember the park’s first anniversary. Saturday, 1-4pm (ongoing, arrive anytime)
A Viewing of “Carry Me Home” “Carry Me Home” is a 20-minute film that recounts Harriet Tubman’s final passage on the Underground Railroad in the winter of 1860. Saturday, 1-2pm and 3-4pm
Sunday, 1-2pm and 3-4pm
Landscapes, Legacies, and Memorials Of Harriet Tubman’s Extraordinary Life
Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, the Visitor Center’s historical consultant, will present an overview of more than a century’s worth of efforts to preserve and celebrate Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy, from her first biography in 1868, to the placement of Tubman’s likeness on the $20 bill in 2020.
Sunday, 10am-11am, book signing from 11am to 12pm in the library
The Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Underground Railroad
Join a park ranger and learn about the landscape of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and how it was an integral part of the Underground Railroad for freedom seekers in both positive and negative ways.
Sunday, 11am-12pm
A Walk with Tony Cohen
Historian Tony Cohen of the Menare Foundation leads a simulated Underground Railroad journey. Combining artifacts and knowledge of the landscape, his tour around the legacy garden reveals escape secrets used by Tubman and other freedom seekers.
Sunday, 12-1pm
ADDRESS: 4068 Golden Hill Rd., Church Creek, Md 21622
