A powerful advocate, freedom fighter, and hero, Harriet Tubman’s story takes form in a new trip-planning tool through the National Park Service (NPS) App. Travel with Tubman: Let Harriet Tubman Guide You on the Journey of a Lifetime, highlights 13 sites that most effected Tubman throughout her life, representative of her 13 rescue missions to Maryland.
Travel with Tubman was developed as part of the year-long celebration of the bicentennial of Tubman’s birth. Together with community stewards and partners, the NPS National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program developed this tool to provide visitors with a guide for exploring Tubman’s life and legacy in national parks, National Heritage Areas, and historic sites across the eastern United States.
Born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Harriet Tubman developed deep connections to faith, community, and family during her childhood. After she escaped slavery, Tubman felt an obligation to return to her birthplace and assist her family to freedom. She referred to herself as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and utilized her connections with other Underground Railroad activists across the Northeast to lead groups of enslaved people to freedom in Canada. Tubman also traversed the Southeast United States while she served as a scout, spy, and nurse during the American Civil War.
“After emancipating herself, Harriet Tubman continued to give back to her community in every way she knew how,” said NPS National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program Manager Diane Miller. “The National Park Service and our partners have a responsibility to come together and share her story with the world – and this tour is a great example of what we can accomplish by working together.”
Travel with Tubman is available online and best 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. Share your photos from Tubman-related sites and show us how you #TravelWithTubman.
