GOVERNOR WES MOORE ANNOUNCES ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY AT HARRIET TUBMAN’S BIRTHPLACE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2023
Contact:
Erin Henson, 410-865-1025
Jim Joyner, 410-865-1030
David Broughton, 410-865-1029 

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

WHEN:           10 - 11 a.m., Tuesday, February 14, 2023

WHERE:       ​Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center
                     4068 Golden Hill Road
                     ​​Church Creek, MD 21622

WHO:          Governor Wes Moore
                      ​Chuck Sams, National Park Service Director

  ​​​​Paul J. Wiedefeld, Acting MDOT Secretary
​  Josh Kurtz, Acting Secretary, Maryland Department    of Natural Resources
​  Kevin Anderson, Acting Secretary, Maryland    Department of Commerce
  Dr. Julie Schablitsky, MDOT Chief of Cultural    Resources and Chief Archaeologist
  Tina Wyatt, descendant of Harriet Tubman and Ben      Ross
  Douglas Mitchell, descendant of Harriet Tubman and Ben Ross

WHY:             The discovery of a home where enslaved people lived is the second major archaeological discovery on the 1,000-acre Thompson Farm property, birthplace of Harriet Tubman more than 200 years ago in March 2022. After more than two years of searching for the homes of Anthony Thompson's enslaved people, Dr. Schablitsky and her team discovered slave quarters and artifacts near the Thompson's manor house. In April 2021, Dr. Schablitsky and her team announced the discovery of the home site of Harriet Tubman's father, Ben Ross, on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

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