CREST HAVEN – The Harriet Tubman Museum, scheduled to open June 19, was of interest to Freeholder Director Gerald M. Thornton since he first learned about it last year.
According to a release, as a history buff, he found the story of Tubman and her work in Cape May to be an important piece in her fight for emancipation. His first response was, “how can we help”?
There is documented proof that Tubman lived in Cape May, in the early 1850s, where she worked at least two summers as a cook in local hotels to help support her effort to fund trips to bring slaves to freedom in the North.
Tubman was a slave and gained her freedom after crossing the Delaware Bay from the Eastern Shore.
She worked with Stephen Smith, an abolitionist, from Philadelphia, in her journey to help her family and others to freedom. She served as a “conductor” of the Underground Railroad for eight years, freeing hundreds of slaves.
The Cape May Macedonia Baptist Church and the Mullock family of Cape May are working together to create the Harriet Tubman Museum of Cape May.
The museum will be housed in the Howell House on Lafayette Street, in Cape May.
Built in the 1840s, it was used as the church parsonage for many years. The house has been vacant for decades and work is being done to restore it for the museum.
Cape May County government has supported the museum with a Freeholder Sponsorship Grant of $5,000. They have also been awarded a total of $4,350 through the Arts and History Re-Grant program managed by the Division of Culture and Heritage.
“It isn’t often that we get the opportunity to support a project of this caliber. The Harriet Tubman story fills the void in the telling of our history and highlights the significant role Cape May County played in our Nation’s growth. I couldn’t be prouder of those individuals, many who are volunteers, who are working on this museum. This project is bringing people together to support and highlight the impact of the African American community in Cape May. They are connecting the dots and making our history part of the nation’s history,” stated Thornton.
The museum was listed in Smithsonian Magazine as one of the 20 Most Anticipated Museum Openings in 2020. They are among museums scheduled to open this year that include Giza, Egypt; Boston, Mass.; Nashville, Tenn.; Queensland, Australia; Dubai; Belvoir, Va.; and Colorado Springs, Colo. to name a few.
“It is an honor to support the members of the Macedonia Baptist Church and the Mullock family in the preservation of this integral piece of American history. This museum will add to the list of outstanding historic attractions in Cape May County,” Thornton added.
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