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DORCHESTER COUNTY, Md. Archaeologists have uncovered the historic home of Harriet Tubman s father, offering new insights into the famed abolitionist s youth and her years learning to navigate the marshy terrain of Maryland s Eastern Shore.
The onetime home of Tubman s father, Ben Ross, was found on land that recently became part of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County.
A team of archaeologists began searching for the site in November. When the team returned in March to continue the work, they found artifacts that dated back to the 1800s, including nails, brick, glass, dish fragments and a button.
Julie Schablitsky, the chief archaeologist for the Maryland Department of Transportation s State Highway Administration, said these artifacts are evidence of Ben Ross s cabin and provide new information about Tubman s life.
Archaeologists find Maryland site of home where Harriet Tubman’s father once lived
Archaeologists working in a remote, marshy site on Maryland’s Eastern Shore say they’ve found the site of home where Ben Ross, the father of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, once lived.
Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford announced the discovery at a news conference on Tuesday, along with state and federal officials and the archaeologists from the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), which made the find.
Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland around 1822 and escaped in 1849 to Philadelphia, where she became an operator of the Underground Railroad, according to the Tubman Byway. She made approximately 13 trips back to Maryland over a decade and helped about 70 people escape slavery.
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CHURCH CREEK Archaeologists in Maryland discovered the historic homesite once owned by the father of Harriet Tubman, state officials announced Tuesday.
The former home of Tubman s father, Ben Ross, was discovered on property acquired in 2020 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an addition to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. I am excited to announce our archaeologists have confirmed that this site was once the home of Ben Ross, and may have been where Harriet Tubman spent her early years, Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford said. A breakthrough occurred in March, Rutherford said. Archaeologists uncovered evidence of a homesite and historic artifacts dating back to the early to mid 1800s.
Lt. Governor Boyd K. Rutherford joined archeologists, historians and officials Tuesday to announce the major historic find.
The 10-acre home site is located in a 2,500-acre parcel of land called Peter’s Neck that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased for $6 million last year.
Ross was given the land and granted his own freedom five years after slaveholder Anthony Thompson’s death in 1836.
Tubman, born Araminta Ross in March 1822, would have spent time at this home site.
“The importance of discovering Ben Ross’ cabin here is the connection to Harriet Tubman. She would’ve spent time here as a child, but also she would’ve come back and been living here with her father in her teenage years, working alongside him,” said MDOT SHA chief archeologist Julie Schablitsky.