DORCHESTER COUNTY 4 Harriet Tubman Museum and 5 Joseph Stewart’s Canal 8 Bucktown Village Store 11 Mt. Zion United Educational Center The Stewart family owned substantial property and In the mid-19th century, Bucktown was a larger Methodist Church The Harriet Tubman Organization maintains this non-profit operated numerous businesses in the area. Joseph Stewart community with two stores, a blacksmith shop, and Sarah Young, a free black woman, deeded this land During the 18th century, the cultural landscape in educational and information center and gift shop designed a canal to float cut logs to his shipyard on the shipyards on the Transquaking River. Here, between 1834 in 1843 to seven free black trustees, including the Dorchester County was altered. The local economy offering literature, historical west side of Madison Bay. Enslaved African Americans dug and 1836, Harriet Tubman Rev. Samuel Green. Henry Nicols, who lived at changed when farmers switched from harvesting tobacco information, a video the six or seven mile canal through the marsh by hand received a blow to her head Buckland in East New Market, freed Green via his to growing grain, raising cattle, and cutting timber for presentation and specialized from 1810 into the 1830s. Harriet Tubman learned that fractured her skull while will in 1837. In 1842, Green purchased the freedom export and shipbuilding. When grain and timber prices tours about Harriet Tubman. important survival skills when she and her father worked she attempted to assist a of his wife, Catherine, and they lived close by what dropped after the War of 1812, large landholders (410-228-1000) in the Stewart family timbering operations in this area. In fellow enslaved man. This has is now Route 16. Green, who was believed to have Madison she may have met the black shipbuilders and been called Tubman’s first struggling with debt began to sell their slaves to Continue on Race Street. Go been an Underground Railroad conductor, served as plantations in the Deep South. Many local Methodists and sailors who provided information about the north and public act of defiance. As a the local preacher at a church on this site in the right on Route 16 and travel how to navigate by the stars, a skill Tubman supposedly result of the injury, she Quakers freed their slaves for religious or moral reasons. 12 miles to site 5. 1850s. He was imprisoned in 1857 for possessing a used when guiding passengers along Underground experienced life long health copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin. During the 1850s, Dorchester County supported the Railroad routes. problems and spiritual visions that changed her views and largest black population on the Eastern Shore. More than A “Bellefield” guided the rest of her life. (Operated by the Bucktown Turn left from the church parking lot onto Route 8,000 African Americans resided here; nearly half of them Route 16 crosses the narrow canal at Parson’s Creek 14/Railroad Avenue. In East New Market, turn During the 1840s and early 1850s, Dr. Anthony C. Bridge. You can turn around two miles past the canal at Village Foundation, 410-901-9255) were free. A well-established free black community was Thompson lived at Bellefield, a 14-acre property near right on Route 16/331 and follow Route 16 north centered around Harrisville Road south of Woolford and Taylors Island Marina. Travel back on Route 16 to the Turn right at the store onto Bestpitch Ferry Road and to Preston. Boundary Avenue. Harriet Tubman and her father, Ben village of Church Creek. Turn right on Route 335 and travel four-tenths of a mile to the Pritchett Meredith near the shipyards in Madison, Woolford, Church Creek, Ross, worked for Thompson. This may be where Harriet and Cambridge. follow the signs to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on House, a white farmhouse on the left. I sang her good-bye song the night before she escaped in Key Wallace Road. Old Indian Trail The exodus of enslaved African Americans intensified in the fall of 1849. During the 1850s, this part of Route 16 was one of the decades leading up to the Civil War. Many of them 9 Pritchett Meredith House the northward routes for freedom seekers fleeing were bitter due to their lack of freedom and the harsh 6 Little Blackwater River Bridge (Privately owned) from central Dorchester County to Poplar Neck or B Pig Neck Road/ Thomas Dail Farm A bridge has spanned this river since the 1770s. Harriet On March 8, 1857, eight freedom seekers from Dorchester treatment they received from some masters and The 1850 census lists a free black man named John the settlement of white Quakers and free black employers. Many feared being sold and transported far Tubman's mother, Rit Green, was probably born in the County were betrayed for the reward money by Thomas people near Hynson. Tubman living near or on the farm of Thomas Dail at the 1780s on the farm of Athow Pattison located south of the Otwell, a black Underground Railroad operator in from their home. Escaping meant they had to leave family junction of Route 16 and Pig Neck Road. If Harriet and friends, endure the hardships of the journey, and face bridge on the east side of the river. Delaware. Thomas Elliott, Denwood Hughes and Henry Jonah Kelley Home Tubman’s husband, John, lived and worked in this area in Predo from Bucktown were among them. Elliott and J possible capture and harsh physical punishment. The the late 1840s, Harriet probably lived nearby, perhaps at After crossing the bridge, turn left at the stop sign In 1858, white Quaker minister Jonah Kelly directed promise of freedom and the possibility of reuniting onto Maple Dam Road. Take the first right onto Hughes were enslaved by Pritchett Meredith and Predo seven freedom seekers from Eldon and Whitehall to Bellefield, at least some of the time. After she escaped in was hired out to Meredith. The group made a dramatic families in the north drove hundreds of enslaved people 1849, John remarried. Greenbrier Road. Daniel Hubbard's house, guiding them along the to take the risks and run. escape from the Dover, Delaware jail and fled to Canada. Underground Railroad route from Dorchester Elliott and Hughes later supported anti-slavery activist County into Caroline County. C Church Creek / Whitehaven G Polish Mills Home John Brown. Before the Civil War, this town and creek served as a major When Rit Green, her daughter, Linah, and the younger Take Route 16 north. Turn left onto Route 331 north MAP KEY shipbuilding center that employed black and white children were hired out to neighboring farmer Polish Turn around on Bestpitch Ferry Road and retrace your and make an immediate right onto Seaman Road. workers. The town is located on a tract called Whitehaven, Mills, Harriet had to sneak away from Edward Brodess’s route to the Bucktown Village Store. At the intersection, Travel four tenths of a mile. Leverton House is on Sites settled in the 17th century by an ancestor of Anthony plantation to see her mother. She was visiting on the turn right on Bucktown Road. the right. The sites marked in yellow on the map are homes, Thompson. In 1860, local resident Charles Dixon was night of November 12, 1833, when a spectacular meteor mills, court houses, bridges, churches, museums indicted in the Dorchester County Court for circulating a shower occurred. 10 Scott’s Chapel/ Bucktown United and other points of interest that are significant to copy of Impending Crisis, an abolitionist book. Methodist Church the Underground Railroad story. 7 Harriet Tubman Historical Free and enslaved African Americans along with white D Woolford/ Harrisville Road Marker/ Brodess Farm (Privately owned) citizens attended this church, founded in 1812. Harriet Areas Ben Ross (Harriet Tubman’s father) probably lived nearby Edward Brodess moved his slave, Rit Green (Harriet Tubman and her family may have worshiped here. The Over time landscapes have changed and often little on Anthony Thompson’s plantation from the early 1800s Tubman's mother) and her children to his farm in church had segregated remains of the former homes, buildings, and until about 1847. Ross married Harriet (Rit) Green who Bucktown in 1823 or 1824. While this area has been graveyards; African Americans communities that played a role in the Underground belonged to Thompson's stepson, Edward Brodess. Ross historically recognized as Harriet Tubman's birthplace; were buried across the road. Railroad. The areas marked in tan on the map are served as head timber cutter for Thompson and his son, there is no conclusive evidence as to the exact birth site. The current building was The Underground Railroad was a secret not intended as stopping points. As you drive Dr. Anthony C. Thompson, and spent much of his time in However, Tubman did spend her constructed in 1891. network supported by courageous people through these landscapes, reflect on the people and this wooded area. After Brodess reached adulthood in early years working here and on Follow Bucktown Road to throughout the United States who broke events of the past. 1823, he moved to a farm in Bucktown and took Green nearby farms. No trace remains Route 50. Turn right on Route the law to offer transportation, refuge and and her five oldest children, including baby Araminta of Edward Brodess' house that 50 and left at the first light Sidebars (Harriet Tubman) with him. By 1840, both Ross and was located near the existing onto Route 16. comfort to escaping slaves during the 1800s. The places noted in green on the map provide Green were living on Thompson's farm, where they modern, privately owned house The loosely organized network was named glimpses into the varied Chesapeake landscapes. presumably stayed until about 1847 when they moved to at the end of the lane. When H Poplar Neck in Caroline County. Some of their children Brodess died in March 1849, his “Eldon” and “Whitehall” symbolically after the new steam railroads The Chesapeake Bay and its numerous tributaries On New Year’s Eve in 1857, seven remained in this area and were hired out by Brodess to widow, Eliza Ann, decided to sell Harriet's family. After and used terms such as “passengers,” were significant to freedom seekers traveling north. enslaved people fled from two farms in local landowners. hearing about the pending sale, Harriet Tubman ran away The waterways that led many travelers to freedom the area of Elks Lodge Road and “depots,” “station masters,” “stockholders” with her brothers, Ben Ross Jr. and Henry Ross. Uncertain often presented extreme challenges. Whitehall Road. They were captured and “conductors.” about directions and fearing capture, they returned. Soon E Madison in Caroline County and returned to after, Harriet escaped alone. UGRR Exhibit Food Restrooms The wealthy and powerful Stewart family owned shipyards, the Cambridge jail. The fugitives were a store and a mill in this area. John Trevelian Stewart allegedly assisted by Daniel Hubbard, employed the enslaved Harriet Tubman and her father, a free black man, and Arthur W. 1 Ben Ross, after he was freed in 1840. Stewart’s brother, Leverton, a white Quaker. Dorchester County James A. Stewart, was a U.S. Congressman for the Eastern About the Driving Tour: Visitor Center Shore in the 1850s and a strong supporter of slavery. An Continue on Route 16 and follow This 105-mile Driving Tour will guide you to Exhibitions orient visitors to Harriet Tubman and uncle, Levin Stewart, freed his slaves in 1817, and his son, signs for Route 392 toward exhibits, homes and home sites, meeting houses, Dorchester County’s role in the Underground Railroad. John T. Stewart, was a Union sympathizer. Upon reaching Hurlock. Turn right at Route The Dorchester County Visitor Center at Sailwinds Park 14/Railroad Avenue. Stop at mills and courthouses that illustrate the story of freedom in Philadelphia in 1854, Harriet Tubman's three provides information about the region’s natural and brothers chose as their aliases the names James Stewart, the church on the right. the Underground Railroad in Dorchester and cultural history, tourist attractions, and amenities. John Stewart, and William Henry Stewart. Caroline Counties in the 1850s. At some sites, Open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (410-228-1000) the original structures are long gone. In a few F Jacob Jackson’s Home instances, the historic homes are privately owned. 2 Dorchester County Courthouse In December, 1854 Harriet Tubman sent a coded letter, (Please respect the homeowners’ privacy.) You This courthouse building was constructed in 1854. The written by a friend, to Jacob Jackson, a free black farmer original structure burned in 1852. Several significant can begin and end your tour anywhere along the who lived west of Madison. When the Madison postmaster incidents occurred at this site during the height of the read the letter, Jackson denied knowing what it meant, but route. To complete the entire tour, plan on a Underground Railroad. In he told Tubman's brothers (Robert, Henry and Ben Jr.) to minimum of four hours. 1850, Harriet Tubman’s niece, meet Harriet on Christmas Day at their parent’s home in Kessiah, and her two young Poplar Neck, and she would lead them to freedom. Along the Way… children escaped from the ◆ slave auction block in front of Experience the distinctive landscapes of the the courthouse. Kessiah's Chesapeake – extensive waterways, marshes, and husband, John Bowley, a free woodlands – that both helped and hindered the black ship carpenter, freedom seekers. transported them in a small sailboat from Cambridge to Baltimore, where Tubman met ◆ Encounter agricultural fields that were once part them and led them to safety in Philadelphia. In 1857, the of vast plantations owned by slaveholders such nationally famous trial of a free black farmer and as the Stewart, Thompson and Brodess families. Methodist preacher, Samuel Green, was conducted at this site. Suspected of assisting runaways, Green was sentenced ◆ Explore the stories of Harriet Tubman; her parents to ten years in prison for owning a copy of the anti-slavery Ben Ross and Rit Green; Quaker abolitionists novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 1858, Hugh Hazlett, an Irish laborer implicated as an Underground Railroad conductor, SIDEBARS Jacob, Arthur and Hannah Leverton; Underground was imprisoned here. He escaped, was recaptured and was Railroad agents Daniel Hubbard and Rev. Samuel later convicted of assisting fugitive slaves. Blackwater National 1 Wildlife Refuge Green; conductor Hugh Hazlett; and freedom This 27,000-acre refuge contains seekers Josiah Bailey, and Kessiah and John Bowley. 3 Long Wharf wetlands and forests similar to those of Cambridge was an important port in the 19th century ◆ the mid-19th century found along the Discover how thousands of men and women when people, goods and information traveled by boat. Big Blackwater River risked everything for the pursuit of freedom. The Choptank River extends 70 miles from its and its major headwaters in Delaware through Caroline, northern branches, Dorchester and Talbot counties to the the Little Blackwater HEART OF CHESAPEAKE Chesapeake Bay. People seeking and Transquaking freedom in the north Rivers. These COUNTRY HERITAGE AREA followed the rivers 2 Rose Hill Place wetlands provided and streams. The protection to Cambridge, Maryland 21613 Choptank served as a freedom seekers, who followed the rivers 410-228-1000 “highway,” but also as northward, hid in the forests and an obstacle, forcing Harriet Tubman was one of the most marshes, foraged for food, and struggled travelers to secure boats famous people involved in the through water to throw pursuers off or seek safe crossings Underground Railroad. Born Araminta their trail. (410-228-2677) through shallow streams and (Minty) Ross, the daughter of Rit creeks. By following the Green and Ben Ross, in Dorchester 2 Bestpitch Ferry Bridge This brochure is made possible with support from the National Park Service, Choptank River to its head, County, she spent her early years in This historic wooden bridge over the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, Dorchester County, and Caroline County, freedom seekers came within a Bucktown on the farm of her owner, Transquaking River provides a view of MD. This publication has been financed in part with funds from the Maryland day's travel to Underground Edward Brodess. She took the name Dorchester County marshlands. In this Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. The Railroad stations in Delaware. Harriet, after her marriage to John contents and opinions, however, do not necessarily reflect the views or policies countryside, knowledgeable local people of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Tubman. After escaping in 1849, she A crowd gathered here in 1858 to meet could hide for days, even weeks, and made 13 trips back to the area and helped follow the waterways north toward Many thanks are due to the members of the Mid-Shore Underground Railroad the steamboat from Denton carrying Hugh at least 70 family members and friends Caroline County and freedom. Network for their work on this project and to the Maryland Historical Society, Hazlett, a conductor for the Underground escape slavery via the Underground Railroad. Kate Larson and the Meredith family for providing images for reproduction. Railroad, and eight captured freedom seekers. The sheriff, fearful of a lynching, had the boat dock at another site.