May 27, 2016

After the announcement last month that Harriett Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill “Who is Harriet Tubman?” was a top searched question on Google.

: A mural of Harriet Tubman painted by one of her descendants, Charles E.T. Ross, is the centerpiece of the Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden alongside US 50 in Cambridge. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: A marker on the historic Brodess Farm in Bucktown shows where Harriet Tubman grew up in slavery with her mother, Harriet “Rit” Green, and siblings. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Harriet Tubman grew up in slavery with her mother, Harriet “Rit” Green, and siblings on the Brodess Farm in Bucktown. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Slaveowner Edward Brodess worshipped at Scott’s Chapel, founded in 1812 in Buckstown. He owned Harriet Tubman, her mother and siblings. They may have come with Brodess to the church. African Americans were buried across the street from the church. The current church was built in 1891. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Cotton bolls hang in the window of the Bucktown Village Store. The store, built in the 1860s, is at the crossroads where a 13-year-old Harriet Tubman was hit in the head with a weight thrown at another enslaved person. She suffered headaches, seizures and visions for the rest of her life. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Bucktown VIllage Store, built in the 1860s, is at the crossroads where a 13-year-old Harriet Tubman was hit in the head with a weight. She suffered headaches, seizures and had visions for the rest of her life. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: People fish off the Little Blackwater River Bridge near Church Creek, part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Driving Tour. Harriet Tubman trapped muskrats in the Blackwater River. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Little Blackwater River Bridge near Church Creek is on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Driving Tour. Harriet Tubman trapped muskrats in the Blackwater River. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: A poster of Harriet Ross Tubman dominates a window of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center on Race Street in Cambridge. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: The visitor center at Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park will open in March 2017. The 17-acre park is adjacent to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: The current Dorchester County Courthouse was built in 1854 to replace the one that burned in 1852. In 1850, Harriet Tubman’s niece, Kessiah Jolley Bowley, and her two children were rescued from the auction block by Kessiah’s husband, John Bowley, a freeman. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Stanley Institute, built in 1865 was moved to this site two years later. The one-room schoolhouse, on the National Register of Historic Places, was used until 1962. This site is on the tour in connection to what was called the “Stampede of Slaves” when 28 enslaved men, women and children escaped from slave quarters in 1857. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: A view through the windows of the Stanley Institute. The one-room schoolhouse, on the National Register of Historic Places, was used until 1962. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: Little Blackwater River Bridge near Church Creek is on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Driving Tour. Harriet Tubman trapped muskrats in the Blackwater River. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: The masts of modern boats are seen at Long Wharf on the Choptank River where ships loaded with enslaved people once docked. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: A marker on the historic Brodess Farm in Bucktown shows where Harriet Tubman grew up in slavery with her mother, Harriet “Rit” Green, and siblings. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

: A mural of Harriet Tubman painted by one of her descendants, Charles E.T. Ross, is the centerpiece of the Harriet Tubman Memorial Garden alongside US 50 in Cambridge. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)

Photos by Kim Hairston

Born into slavery in Dorchester County in 1822, Araminta “Minty” Ross, escaped in 1849 and returned to Maryland over 11 years to lead 70 slaves, including family members, to freedom.

The life of the abolitionist, Union spy, nurse, suffragist has long been celebrated on the Eastern Shore. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway driving tour connects us to the life of this remarkable woman and to the region. There are 125-miles to explore on this self-guided tour that take you to places Tubman traveled, landscapes she would recognize and places that honor her legacy. Next year there will be another place to visit. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, just outside the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge will open in March.

Searching for Harriet Tubman in Dorchester County

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