Local and State Leaders Unveil Harriet Tubman Marker

CHURCH CREEK, Md. – Dorchester County and Maryland Leaders were on hand Monday morning as they unveiled this new historical marker, noting these lands in Church Creek as the birthplace of Harriet Tubman.

We got a chance to speak with Tonet Cuffee, a descendant of Harriet Tubman about this unveiling on the land that many now believe was her birthplace and how that helped shape her in forming the Underground Railroad.

Cuffee says, “If it was not for this area, she may have not had the perseverance, the resilience. She may have not gained the tools and the knowledge to be able to do what she’s done as a woman on top of that.”

Governor, Wes Moore says that unveiling this marker for the birthplace of Harriet Tubman is fitting, citing her bravery, that her strength is the embodiment of Marylanders.

He tells us, “She was able to thrive and not just when she got her success and when she got her freedom. She then came back to make sure other people got their own freedom. And I think that’s incredibly inspirational for each and every one of us. And it’s important, a reminder about how we need to move in this moment.”

Dr. Julie Schablitsky, with MDOT’s Cultural Resources Division said now, this part of Dorchester County is linked to someone intertwined with civil rights.

“Through historical research and even archeology, we’ve been able to prove that Harriet Tubman was born here in Dorchester County on Harrisville Road. So that’s kind of exciting to be able to put this marker in the road to be standing for many, many years,” she says.

Originally, many thought Tubman’s birthplace was in nearby Bucktown. But Church Creek has been identified as the true place of her beginnings.