The Inspiring Story of Harriet Tubman

The Underground Railroad’s best known conductor was also a suffragist, a warrior, and a caretaker. From her own self-emancipation on the eastern shore of Maryland to her heroic service during the Civil War, her advocacy for the rights of women and African Americans, and her work to care for the poor and homeless in her community…Harriet Tubman’s unswerving determination changed the lives of countless Americans, making her a towering figure in our nation’s history.

Explore the places of Harriet Tubman

a visitor looks out over a wetland landscape in the early evening
The beginning

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park: here is where she liberated herself, her family, and others who were enslaved.

a white two-story home with a broad front porch
“I would make a home for them…”

At Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in New York, see her home and the places where she cared for others.

a statue of Underground Railroad conductors leading their charges
Underground Railroad Network

Over 600 sites in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom share stories of self-emancipation and the courageous journey to freedom.

Showing results 1-10 of 51

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, Chesapeake Bay
    A brick building with a sign for the Seaford Museum, and another sign that says Explore Chesapeake

    Discover the Seaford Museum, a hidden gem in downtown Seaford, Delaware. Just steps from the Nanticoke River, this award-winning museum showcases the region’s rich history, from Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad connections to its maritime legacy. Explore interactive exhibits on shipbuilding and oyster shucking. After your visit, enjoy a scenic stroll along the River Walk, where Seaford’s waterfront industry stories come to life!

  • Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

    William C. Morrison

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
    An illustration of William C. Morrison in a suit standing with one hand on his hip.

    The story of an enslaved man in Charleston liberating himself aboard a stolen Confederate vessel, who came to Beaufort, purchased property, served in the military, owned a business, and was elected to political office – sounds like a familiar story to many in the South Carolina Lowcountry. However, most people have never heard of William C. Morrison.

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, Fort Davis National Historic Site, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
    A handwritten record of Gabriel Turner

    A moment of freedom becomes a lifetime of service – and a mystery. From his escape on the Planter with Robert Smalls to a long history of military service, learn Gabriel Turner's story in this article.

    • Type: Article
    • Offices: Interpretation and Education
    A woman operates a hand drill working on an A-31 Vengeance dive bomber

    From the lives of young, immigrant women who worked the textile mills at Lowell National Historic Park to those of the female shipyard workers who were essential to the home front during World War II at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park, women’s history can be found at every park. If you want to understand our nation’s history, explore the remarkable legacies of American women.

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
    An illustration of the Combahee River Raid, of people running towards a boat.

    On the night of June 1, 1863, Harriet Tubman and the soldiers of the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers sailed up the Combahee River. By the time they returned, they had liberated more than 750 people on what became known as the Combahee River Raid.

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

    Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
    • Offices: Network to Freedom
    A side view of a green and orange church building with a tall steeple and a tree in front.

    Built in 1891, the Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion church represented a place of worship and a cornerstone of Auburn’s Black community. Harriet Tubman, a prominent member of this community, worshipped at this church alongside her family. The church became Tubman’s final resting place when she passed away in 1913. Registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1974, the church building was purchased by the National Park Service in 2017.

    • Type: Person
    • Locations: First State National Historical Park, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
    • Offices: Network to Freedom
    Sepia portrait of Harriet Tubman, c. 1868

    Harriet Tubman has long been associated with her extraordinary work with abolitionist causes and as the Underground Railroad's most famous "conductor." Her heroic efforts in personally leading approximately 70 people out of slavery to freedom in the North defined her as the "Moses of her People."

  • Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

    Beaufort's "Contraband" Hospital

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
    A white picket fence lines a street, alongside which a two story white house stands.

    The "Contraband" Hospital in Beaufort, South Carolina was established during the Civil War for the medical care of freed African Americans on the Sea Islands.

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

    Harriet Tubman Home

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
    The front of a brick two-story house with small white columns in front surrounded by trees with fall

    Harriet Tubman bought a 7-acre area of land in of 1859 in Auburn, New York. There was a barn and a farmhouse, where Harriet Tubman would move her family from St. Catharines, Canada, south to Auburn, New York. In 1880, a fire destroyed the original wood-frame house after a resident under Harriet’s care used a defective stovepipe as a chimney in their room. Harriet Tubman and her family constructed a new brick house in 1882 and lived in that building until her passing in 1913.

  • Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

    Harriet Tubman Home for Aged & Indigent Negroes

    • Type: Place
    • Locations: Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
    Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged in the winter. White snow makes the white house look fluffy.

    At the age of 74, Tubman purchased at auction a 25 acre parcel of land with numerous structures which abutted her residential property. Her hope was to establish the Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Negroes to carry on her work, after she was gone, of caring for the old and poor in her community. When she was unable to raise funds necessary to open the facility, Tubman deeded the property to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

Last updated: October 24, 2019