Greater Wilmington Sites Commemorate the Efforts of Abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett Harriet Tubman Day Is Sunday, March 10 Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley (February 26, 2019) – March is Women’s History Month, March 8 is International Women’s Day and March 10 is Harriet Tubman Day – a nod to the date she died (in 1913), since the record of her birth into slavery is unclear. Though Tubman’s story and contributions are acknowledged every day in Wilmington, Delaware, and its surroundings, March seems an opportune time to truly focus on the region’s Underground Railroad history. The Underground Railroad was a secret system made up of free and enslaved African Americans, white abolitionists, and safe spaces and routes through local landscapes. Before the Civil War, routes through Delaware were used by freedom seekers from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and occasionally parts further south so they could reach the free states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and others further north. Delaware, a slave state, was coined “the last stop to freedom.” Tubman was born in Maryland and escaped the bonds of slavery in 1849. She passed through Delaware on her way to Philadelphia and returned to the state regularly over the next several years, as she repeatedly went back to Maryland to collect family members and friends and escort them to freedom. Throughout the 1850s, with the help of Wilmington resident Thomas Garrett, a Quaker and ardent abolitionist who acted as a “stationmaster” on the Underground Railroad, and his network of local operatives, Tubman led African American freedom seekers through Delaware and on to safer locations. Many private homes and buildings in Delaware – including African American and Quaker communities – provided safe havens for those who were traveling in secret. Today’s travelers can follow Delaware’s 98-mile Harriett Tubman Underground Railroad Byway as they explore one of the most volatile times in American history. The Delaware segment joins the Maryland byway, which focuses on Tubman’s early years, to create a rare two-state byway. Among the stops on the byway is downtown Wilmington’s Delaware History Museum/Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, where a “Journey to Freedom” exhibit documents Delaware’s African American history via ten themed sections. One of those exhibits is the story of the Underground Railroad as shared through artifacts related to Garrett, who as a boy growing up in neighboring Pennsylvania saw one of his family’s free black servants kidnapped and nearly sold into slavery. Though the servant was rescued by his family, the incident further solidified the Garretts’ anti-slavery stance; all the sons became outspoken abolitionists, but none more driven than Thomas. When he moved to Wilmington, Garrett openly shared his opinions, became an officer in the Delaware Abolition Society, and blatantly worked as a stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. Though he was never arrested, in 1848 Garrett and another Quaker, John Hunn, were sued in federal court by a pair of angry slaveowners. Supreme Court Justice Roger Brook Taney presided over the trial, which was held in the New Castle County Courthouse. Today the site of the trial is a museum that just opened a new exhibit about the trial ... and it’s another stop on the Byway. The fines that were imposed on the abolitionists were enough to bankrupt them, though Garrett’s friends helped him to recover and remain in the iron business. Rather than curtail his activities after the grueling three-year legal process, Garrett redoubled his efforts to assist freedom seekers. By sharing details of Harriet Tubman’s journeys with sympathetic associates abroad, Garrett was able to raise funds to further her work. He provided her with food and a place to stay, but he also gave her money for travel and ensured that she and her “passengers” had proper shoes to wear on their journeys. Garrett is credited with providing the funds that helped Tubman finally to bring her aged parents out of Maryland in her last Underground Railroad mission. In 1993 the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park was established to honor the defiant local man and the incredibly brave woman who forged an unlikely friendship in their quest to aid everyone seeking freedom. A highlight here is the park’s dynamic sculpture, “Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom,” erected in 2012 in anticipation of the Tubman centennial in 2013. Hosted by the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware, the Tubman Byway is a way to remember and honor the heroic efforts of Tubman, other abolitionists and all freedom seekers. To start planning a visit to experience these and other sites along the Tubman Byway, check out www.visitwilmingtonde.com. ### Wilmington & the Brandywine Valley is in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic region and less than a two-hour drive from both New York City and Washington. Steeped in American history and the legacy of the famed du Pont family, Greater Wilmington is a destination marked by sharp contrasts – town and garden, past and present, historic and hip. From renowned gardens, world-class museums, colonial towns, outdoor adventure, festivals, and an ever-growing craft beer and restaurant scene, each experience is more vibrant, more unique and more authentic than the last. Learn more at VisitWilmingtonDE.com. And to see the beauty of the Brandywine Valley now, watch this: https://youtu.be/KyPWLnciO0E. 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