FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS: Susan Sullam (Cardin) 410-962-4436
Rachel MacKnight (Mikulski) 202-228-1122
March 25, 2013
CARDIN AND MIKULSKI PRAISE HARRIET TUBMAN NATIONAL
MONUMENT DESIGNATION
480-Acre Property on Eastern Shore Becomes the Foundation of New National Monument
Honoring an American Icon
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) today praised President
Barack Obama for issuing a proclamation designating the establishment of the Harriet Tubman Underground
Railroad National Monument in Dorchester County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. This new National
Monument will memorialize the tremendous contributions Harriet Tubman made to American history. The
establishment of the National Monument will preserve the unique landscape associated with her life on the
Eastern Shore and her legacy as the most famous “conductor” on the Underground Railroad.
The National Monument designation also will serve as an intermediate step to fulfilling the greater vision of
establishing two national historical parks to honor Tubman. On February 7, Senator Cardin along with Senators
Mikulski and Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (both D-NY) introduced The Harriet Tubman
National Historical Park and The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park Act, S.
247, as a way to honor her by establishing two National Historic Parks, one in Maryland and one in New York.
The National Historical Park in Maryland will trace Tubman’s early life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland,
where she was born and later escaped from slavery to become one of the leaders on the Underground Railroad.
The National Historical Park in New York will be located in Auburn and will focus on her later years where she
was active in the women’s suffrage movement and in providing for the welfare of aged African Americans.
“A National Monument designation commemorating the extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman is an important
step in the process of establishing National Historic Parks to honor her,” said Senator Cardin, who authored S.
247 to create the two National Historical Parks in her honor. “Harriet Tubman was an iconic figure in our
nation’s history, and as commemorate the 100th anniversary of her death this year, this designation is an
important step in honoring this true American heroine. I am going to continue to work hard in Congress to pass
legislation to establish the two National Historical Parks, and today’s action from the President will help us
achieve our goal of fully honoring her legacy.”
“Harriet Tubman was a courageous fighter who delivered countless slaves to freedom on the Underground
Railroad,” Senator Mikulski said. “She was tireless in her commitment to fight for those who could not fight
themselves. Designating a national monument here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore is an important step as we
move towards the establishment of National Historic Parks to commemorate her heroic works.”
The new National Monument will be located on a historically significant 480-acre property. Located within the
National Monument are portions of Stewart’s Canal, a manmade waterway Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross,
helped build as a slave. The National Monument also contains the home site of Jacob Jackson, a free black man
who used coded letters to help Tubman communicate with family and others and who also offered up his house
as one of the first safe houses along the Underground Railroad leading out of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The
Conservation Fund donated the 480-acre property, adjacent to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, to the
National Park Service for the purposes of establishing the National Monument.
Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester County in 1822, escaping in 1849 and continuously risking her life to
lead many others to freedom on the Underground Railroad. She also served as a nurse and a spy for the Union
during the Civil War. She later became active in the women’s suffrage movement and created a home “for aged
and indigent colored people” before her death on March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York.
The national monument designation will help increase tourism, create jobs and strengthen Dorchester County’s
local economy. In 2010, tourism represented one-fifth of Dorchester County’s employment, generating more
than $132 million for the local economy.
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