I knew when I went to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Dorchester County, MD before any of the exhibits were installed and still felt impacted by the visit, that it was going to be a remarkable place.
Open to the public in March, visitors will be immersed in Harriet Tubman’s life, legacy and landscapes through interactive exhibits following an overall theme of “The View North”. Everything, including the building’s construction and location, relates to the journey north that enslaved people took to reach freedom.
The amount of planning, care and respect that went into the symbolic design of the facility is awe-inspiring and quite emotional. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is a very, very special place.
The stone and walls outside the visitor center represent the strong mental boundary of slavery.
The building’s zinc siding, which will patina and dull over time, symbolizes self-healing, and the hope that attitudes about slavery and race within our country will develop a healing patina in time as well.
As visitors enter the building on the south end, they’ll begin to leave the present and move into the past. The space is dark with narrow, closed-in hallways, and after viewing an introductory 10-minute film, “The Life and Legacy of Harriet Tubman”, they’ll enter the exhibit space. As they progress through the exhibits and move northward, the ceilings become higher, with more light until finally at the northernmost point, the building is full of glass and light — freedom.
The exhibits, which are designed to be more interactive than text-heavy, are broken down into three interpretive sections:
1. The Choptank River landscape and how the values of faith, family and community shaped Harriet Tubman into who she was
- Walk into an immersive egg-shaped theater which takes you through a day in her life in a span of 2-3 minutes.
- Understand how the free and enslaved communities worked and lived side by side, which enabled a communication network to open up with the north. That network allowed the Underground Railroad to thrive.
- See how Tubman learned her survival skills by working in the woods with her father, Ben Ross. Though she couldn’t read or write, she was very adept at orienting herself and reading the signs of nature.
- The immersive environment will make you feel as if you’re with her on one of the twelve documented rescue missions she made.
2. The resistance movement that brought her to national prominence
- Hear the rescue story of her three brothers and how they hid in the corn crib on Christmas day.
- Learn Harriet’s role in the Civil War – she was nurse, scout, spy and strategist.
- Discover Maryland’s role in the Choptank River region of the Underground Railroad.
3. Harriet Tubman’s modern-day relevance
- Harriet Tubman transcends race, gender, sex and religion, and this illustrates how regardless of your disadvantages, you can make decisions that positively impact your community and/or nation.
- In this area, we see what she did as a suffragist and how she established a home for the aged.
- When you reach the stained glass windows representing the seasons, take a moment for quiet reflection as the exhibit experience comes to an end.
Outside the visitor’s center is a legacy garden with 3/4 mile walking trails. The plants that grow along the winding and intersecting trails symbolize the uncertainty of choices along the Underground Railroad. Also outside the visitor’s center and tucked behind the administration building, is a pavilion and picnic area which can be enjoyed by visitors and reserved for special events.
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center is a poignant and inspiring starting point for the other historical sites along the 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All American Road. As you travel and see the same landscapes Harriet Tubman saw on her many journeys north, you’ll experience a true sense of place and an unmistakable emotional connection.
(Tip: During my visit to Dorchester County, I learned of the most amazing Harriet Tubman biography you’ll likely ever find: Bound For the Promised Land by Kate Clifford Larsen. If you want to read a richly detailed and powerful portrait about this brave, selfless and courageous woman, this is it. It’s an excellent and fascinating read, and I highly recommend it.)
For more information on Dorchester County and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, here’s a list of resources to help.
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park (visitor center website)
Harriet Tubman Byway and Historical Sites
Harriet Tubman Byway Driving Tour Guide
Comments & Reviews
I love the zinc siding and the concept behind it. It is so cool when places put that much thought into the architecuture and building materials. I see a homeschool field trip the the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in our future.
Wow, what an impressive place. Definitely adding this to my list of places to go someday, sooner rather than later.
I’m so happy this has finally come. I remember studying her in history class and imagining just how dangerous it was at that time to help slaves like that.
I know, she must have been such a strong, brave woman. She really risked her life!
I’m so excited about the opening of the visitors center. i’ll have to stop by on a visit up north with my family.
I remember learning about the Underground Railroad as a child. That would be an interesting place to see.
This is so cool. I loved learning about Harriet Tubman in school, and things like this will help people get more involved in her story and learn more about such an inspirational and brave woman.
I’d love to check this out! It’s certainly a learning experience! Harriet Tubman is such a great role model for the history books.
Wow this sounds very interesting! Great part of history, I would love to take my kids to see this!
Harriet Tubman is an amazing, courageous woman! To be able to accomplish that much during the civil war, as a woman, is really worthy to be mentioned in history books. I would love to see the underground railroad visitor center. Just thinking about being there leaves me in awe.
Forget about my kids-I would love to visit this center! Such a rich and powerful reminder of those who came before us! Definitely on my bucket list of must have adventures!
This is for sure a place I would want to visit. I did a paper on her in middle school and have loved learning about her ever since.
I’d love to visit this place some day. I’ve actually been talking a lot more about the civil rights movement with my students with MLK Day happening today and they’re learning a new unit in their classes. I haven’t taught them about Tubman yet, but I bet they’d be so interested in hearing her stories.
This place is stunning, well fitting to honor such a remarkable woman. I will be sure to visit and take in all of the exhibits.
My almost ten year old is a history buff. She loves everything about it and would find this place fascinating.
This sounds incredible and I hope to be able to take my kids on our travels.
I would love to go for a visit there. I love the structure. Always interesting to check out places like these
I love to visit historical sites. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center would be so interesting to explore. I am hoping to be in the area in the summer.
This is so cool! I love the way they set it up. I think it will be a super valuable resource to the community and all its visitors! 🙂
It’s intersting how much thought they put into making it replicate the times/feelings of the era. I would love to go!
Wow this is somewhere I’d love to take my kids some day. I love trying to teach them about all sorts of things, including Harriet Tubman and about the underground railroad. We didn’t learn about any of it here in school, so its our job as parents to teach our kids!
Very cool place and such an inspirational story. Women like Harriet Tubman must be celebrated. I want to make a trip to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center soon.
This sounds amazing! I’ve heard of this place before but I’ve never been there. My kids love visiting historical places, so I’m sure they’ll love it here.
What a great place!! I’ve never been there but it’s sounds cool and impressvie!
Sounds like a great place to explore with kids! I know they love visiting historical places, they will surely enjoy this!
This looks like an excellent historical place to visit. I was not aware of it.
I am also impressed how long of a life Harriet had despite all the strains put on her!
So much thought went into the design of this building. It must have been a great experience. What an amazing woman.
She was mighty amazing! I too love the design aspect of the building and grounds.
wow. i would so love to visit this center. harriet tubman was a remarkable and strong women. this would be an amazing trip.
I think Harriet Tubman is one of the greatest unsung heros of our time. I am happy to see she is being honored in such a wonderful way.
There is so much history surrounding Harriet Tubman. This has been a place I have always wanted to visit. It is very rich in culture, history, and many stories.
Wow! This looks like a fabulous place to visit and learn more of our history is a fun way. I would definitely love visiting this Center.
This looks like it would be an amazing place to visit. This part of history has always fascinated me.
I have done so many projects and essays on Harriet Tubman, my grandparents lived near a place that she had actaully stayed! It’s so great to read about her again, the schools don’t seem to teach about her anymore
This looks like it would be such a great place to learn. She was such an amazing woman.