arriet Tubman
lived in Upstate New York for over thirty years after assisting more than 300 slaves
escape on the "Underground Railroad." For those nineteen, dangerous trips,
Tubman was known as the "Moses of her people." The site in Auburn, N.Y.,
including Tubman’s last home (ca. 1880) and the adjacent Home for the Aged she
founded, a National Historic Landmark, represents some of the very few documented,
tangible links to Harriet Tubman that exist.The 30-acre site also includes the ruins of
the second building of the Home for the Aged, destroyed by fire in 1949; the Harriet
Tubman Memorial Library, built in 1978 and containing historic documents, photos and a
computer lab; and the Multipurpose Center that is used for special events. The
overwhelming preservation need at the site is gathering historic documentation about the
site and assessing the historic buildings and landscape so that informed decisions about
the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the site can then move forward.
Save America’s Treasures came to the Harriet Tubman Home on July 15, 1998.
Following a tour of the site, the First Lady joined local dignitaries and Tubman’s
descendants at a ceremony to announce a private gift. Since the visit, the organizations
coordinating the site’s restoration — Harriet Tubman Home, Inc., and the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church — have received a $50,000 matching grant from the New
York State Heritage Area and $7,000 of in-kind services. The positive effect of the First
Lady’s visit is further evidenced by the Auburn City Council adoption of a
"Historic Park Task Force" and a full 100% increase in annual visitors to the
Harriet Tubman Home.
Perhaps one of the most compelling stories surrounding Save America’s Treasures
and the preservation of this historic site involves a creative and caring elementary
school class outside of Philadelphia. Last summer, first grade teacher Kristin Keller
wondered how her class could help save Harriet Tubman's home. The class was reading about
Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad, and Ms. Keller saw an article about Save
America’s Treasures July trip in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The class, at
Roslyn Elementary School (K-6), developed the program "Pennies for Preservation"
over the past school year with remarkable success and support from the community.
Every Friday from Martin Luther King Day through May 28, the children brought in their
pennies (a local bank graciously counted all of them for free) and raised $1,000.00 for
the Harriet Tubman home. As evidence of the school's enthusiasm for the subject of the
Underground Railroad, the Parent Teacher Organization agreed to pay to have a theater
group from NY state come and perform their "Freedom Train" play for the entire
school during an assembly, and the children have the satisfaction of knowing that they
have made a difference by helping to save one of America’s great treasures.
arriet Tubman
lived in Upstate New York for over thirty years after assisting more than 300 slaves
escape on the "Underground Railroad." For those nineteen, dangerous trips,
Tubman was known as the "Moses of her people." The site in Auburn, N.Y.,
including Tubman’s last home (ca. 1880) and the adjacent Home for the Aged she
founded, a National Historic Landmark, represents some of the very few documented,
tangible links to Harriet Tubman that exist.