Harriet Tubman’s Chosen Home of Auburn Featured in “Travel with Tubman” Trip-Planning Tool
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Harriet Tubman’s Chosen Home of Auburn Featured in “Travel with Tubman” Trip-Planning Tool
Harriet Tubman Sites included in National Park Service tool
April 22, 2022 – Auburn, NY: Two historic sites in Auburn are included in a new trip-planning tool recently unveiled by the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the year-long celebration of the bicentennial of Harriet Tubman’s birth. Accessible through the NPS app, the Travel with Tubman: Let Harriet Tubman Guide You on the Journey of a Lifetime tool assists users in visiting 13 key sites important to Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy, representative of Tubman’s 13 rescue missions to Maryland which saved countless individuals.
Travelers can learn much of Harriet Tubman’s story by visiting all 13 sites on Travel with Tubman. The two sites located in Auburn, NY, the chosen home of Harriet Tubman, give insight into the last 54 years of Tubman’s life:
- Harriet Tubman Home: Following her own emancipation, Harriet Tubman settled with her family in St. Catharines, Ontario. Invited by Auburn –residents, William H. and Frances Seward, Tubman purchased property from the couple and moved to Auburn in 1859. The original wood-frame house was destroyed in a fire before Tubman and her family constructed the brick residence, where Tubman lived for over 50 years, and which still stands today. The property is also the site of the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center, the Tubman Home for Aged and Infirm Negroes and a restored barn.
- Thompson Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church: Harriet Tubman pledged $500 to help build the original building, now preserved by the National Park Service. It is here, in the center of the historic Black community of Auburn, that Harriet Tubman worshipped for 22 years and from where she was buried in 1913. In the process of being restored, visitors can see the exterior of the building.
Together, the sites comprise the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park.
The Cayuga County Office of Tourism is thrilled to be included in this endeavor. “Many people are aware of Harriet Tubman due to her courageous efforts along the Underground Railroad – but few know the rest of her story,” said Karen Kuhl, executive director of the Cayuga County Office of Tourism. “Harriet Tubman chose to spend the last 54 years of her life in Auburn, NY, where she owned property, married her second husband, fulfilled much of her philanthropic work and is now laid to rest.”
A list of additional sites around Cayuga County that allow visitors to follow in Harriet Tubman’s footsteps are available at: www.tourcayuga.com/harriet-tubman/places-to-visit/
Travel with Tubman is available online, or can be viewed through the free NPS App, downloadable in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Users can also download and print “The Conductor,” or create their own guide to lead them on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip.
Auburn, NY, and Cayuga County are celebrating the 200th birthday of Harriet Tubman throughout 2022 with a series of special events, exhibits, speakers and offerings. More information about upcoming celebrations is available at www.harriettubman200.com.
About the Cayuga County Office of Tourism:
The Cayuga County Office Convention and Visitors Bureau Inc. was established in 1995 as Cayuga County’s official tourism promotion agency. Our mission is to promote, support, and increase tourism, thereby stimulating economic growth and improving the quality of life for area residents.