Did you know that Frederick Douglass was born in the next county over from where Harriet Tubman was born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore? Recently some interesting history about Douglass’s visits to Cambridge, MD, has been rediscovered, and on Sept. 21, you can join the Walking Tour of Frederick Douglass in Cambridge. The tour retraces the steps that Douglass took during two visits to Cambridge in 1877 and 1878, and includes two stops along the Tubman Byway (Sites #3 and #4). 2018 marked 200 years since Douglass’s birth.
The tour will begin at Long Wharf, where Douglass arrived in Cambridge, and proceed up High Street past the Courthouse and Christ Episcopal Church. Stopping at Waugh Chapel United Methodist Church and then proceeding down Pine Street to Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Douglass addressed a multi-racial gathering including members of the Lloyd family.
This tour will also interweave the local history of Patty Cannon, Professor John Mercer Langston, Governor Henry Lloyd, Rev. Henry Augustus Monroe, Bishop John Fletcher Hurst and others.
The tour will formally conclude on Pine Street in front of Bethel AME Church, which is a historic African-American community. Tour goers are encouraged to explore downtown Cambridge following the tour and get lunch at a nearby eatery on the adjacent Race Street. See restaurant options in Downtown Cambridge.
The tour begins at 9am on Sept. 21, and is led by John Muller, historian and author of “Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia.” Tickets cost $20; free for students. Find details and buy tickets.
There is free parking at Long Wharf (near High and Water Streets).
Cambridge is also home to the Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center (home of the new Harriet Tubman Mural), and about 20 minutes drive from the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center.