Welcome to the Park of the Month newsletter for March 2025. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re featuring a park that honors the legacy of one of the most successful and courageous freedom fighters in American history, who also happened to be a woman.
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park
Location
Auburn, New York, United States
Claim to fame
Harriet Tubman is famed for leading 13 trips on the Underground Railroad from Maryland to free states and to Canada. Born into slavery around 1822, Tubman was treated cruelly as a child by her slave owners–whipped, beaten, and wounded. At around 17 years old (the exact year of her birth is unknown), she escaped north to freedom. She returned repeatedly to emancipate her family and others, eventually guiding an estimated 70 enslaved people to freedom.
Reason to visit
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is one of two parks within the US National Park Service (NPS) devoted to sharing the life story of Harriet Tubman. The park is located in Auburn, New York, where Tubman spent her later life. It oversees three sites: her residence, the home for aging African Americans that Tubman established and resided in, and the AME Zion Church where she was a member.
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland is another NPS site that honors Tubman’s early life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Visitors can trace the route that Tubman took and explore a visitor center and museum that detail her life.
Wild Fact
During the US Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union Army as a cook, nurse, and eventually as a spy and scout. In 1863 she guided the Combahee Ferry Raid, which freed over 700 enslaved people and also made Tubman the first woman to lead an armed military operation in the United States.
Want to learn more about Harriet Tubman National Historical Park? Visit the park’s website.
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