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A Silver Jubilee Celebration Fit for a Queen! Queen Tubman, That Is….
Written by: Stephanie Gilbert
Date: July 23, 2023

(Video above – speaking is Dr Cheryl LaRoche associate research professor in Historic Preservation in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland, College Park. She lectures on a wide range of historical topics; her work has taken her across the country, from New England to the banks of the Mississippi River and beyond. She has consulted for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, the African Meeting House in Boston and Nantucket, and a number of other historical sites and projects. She worked as an archaeological conservator for the African Burial Ground Project in New York City where she was responsible for conserving the grave goods from the burials)

We trekked to Tubman Country!

We traveled from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Church Creek, Maryland on July 21, 2023, to celebrate Freedom with the US National Park Service and a host of delegates in attendance to support ongoing efforts to identify, certify, protect and promote Underground Railroad (UGRR) sites across the US.

National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (P. L. 105-203) directs the National Park Service (NPS) to establish a program that tells the story of resistance against the institution of slavery in the United States (and related territories) through escape and flight. This story is illustrative of a fundamental tenet of this nation that all human beings embrace the right to self-determination and freedom from oppression. Through the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program (NTF), the NPS acknowledges the significance of the Underground Railroad not only in its contribution to the eradication of slavery in the United States, but also as the cornerstone for a more comprehensive national civil rights movement that followed.

Since its birth by Congressional mandate on July 21, 1998, the National Underground Network to Freedom has grown from a scattershot smattering of recognized sites of UGRR activity into a truly international network of 744 sites, programs, and research facilities. Collectively, this vast network and the researchers behind it have profoundly expanded and transformed our collective understanding of the multi-generational, multi-racial, multi-national efforts to resist the institution of slavery through flight and escape.

To kick off this silver jubilee year, the National Park Service and Network to Freedom staff hosted a celebratory event/seminar/film festival on Friday and Saturday at one of the crown jewels within the Network to Freedom, the recently opened, 10,000-square-foot Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center on the grounds of Harriet Tubman State Park near Cambridge, MD.

The Visitor Center is set in a beautiful, rural, park setting, and is well off of the beaten path. The site is modern and peaceful, serving as a monument to Harriet Tubman and environs in which she was raised.

Unfortunately, we arrived just as the speakers kicked off the formal program, so we missed the opportunity to tour the facility, as it closed while we were still enjoying the festivities. Our business schedule required us to return to Philadelphia that same evening, which drove us to miss the ‘day 2′ events. It was a quick down and back, but well worth the effort and we appreciated having been included and the opportunity to meet many of the current-day UGRR operatives in the form of Network to Freedom leadership.

My affiliation with UGRR Network to Freedom began in 2011 when I was contacted by a historic preservation consultant about the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Smith site in Lancaster PA. The consultant had submitted an application to the National Park Service Network to Freedom in an attempt to certify the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith home, as well as Thaddeus Steven’ office. The application had been rejected by a six-member panel of the federal government.

The consultant outreached to me and asked for permission to review certain pages of Oliver Gilbert’s unpublished autobiography, which I granted as a one-time, single-use opportunity. The details within the narrative were validated and it was decided that the data was robust enough to warrant a re-submission of the application using this newly emerged information.

The resubmission was a success, and the site is now registered on the Network to Freedom, and a $22M museum and conference center is now under construction at the site.

Oliver’s legacy was also key to certification of the Moses Cartland site in Lee, New Hampshire. In attempting to secure more text on the Cartland home for this journal post, I searched the internet for sources on the site and am dismayed at the amount of misinformation about the Cartland home and also his relationship with Oliver Gilbert. Moses Cartland’s wiki page declares that Moses helped Oliver escape to New York. I don’t know how anyone could have construed that from any of the readily available information about Moses and Oliver. In the interest of focus, I’ll find another opportunity to set a clear record of the history of Moses Cartland and Oliver Gilbert.  Please know that Moses had nothing to do with Oliver’s actual escape from Maryland, though he did house and care for Oliver for two years in his role as an UGRR operative. More later.

While introducing myself to those present at the jubilee, I took the opportunity to meet Sylvia Cyrus, Executive Director of ASALH and thank her for the grant donation to Howard County Historical Society for the creation of the Oliver Cromwell Gilbert interpretative exhibit. (link below to grant press release – see Maryland). The grant supported the creation of a Dorfman museum statue which can be seen, coincidentally, at the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center in Howard County, MD. We sure do love Harriet Tubman, don’t we?

Between Douglass and Tubman….I’m sure we have room for more heroes of our history to emerge. Don’t we?

As the day closed, we’d decided to visit the nearby location of Harriet Tubman’s ‘childhood home’ (enslavement), the Brodess Farm and also visit the Bucktown Store, where Harriet had suffered a head injury when an enslaver hit her with a two-pound weight. The store was closed, so we’ll have to return to visit the interior, which has been transformed into a museum. The exterior is surprisingly well-preserved and offers a glimpse into 19th century life in rural Eastern Shore, Maryland.

We made one last stop before leaving Cambridge: CRABCAKES at a recommended waterfront restaurant, Snappers. (Thanks to Linda Harris for the suggestion) It is against our code to visit the Eastern Shore without tasting crab. Snappers Restaurant didn’t disappoint, and also offered a fun, sand-floor Tiki bar, complete with palm trees and live music. A perfect ending to a fruitful and fascinating day.

A return to Cambridge is a definite! The Hyatt Regency in Cambridge looks FABULOUS, but we’ll have to wait for the prices to drop before checking it out.

Link to the ASALH press release-

Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program Awards $180,000 in Grants – Network to Freedom (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Church Creek, MD – The National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, in collaboration with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), announces the awarding of $180,000 in grants.

Twenty Network to Freedom Members will receive up to $10,000 each for projects that enhance the preservation, interpretation, and research of the Underground Railroad, one of the nation’s first civil rights movements.

“ASALH is delighted to continue to work as a partner in this year’s Network to Freedom Grant Program,” said Executive Director Sylvia Cyrus. “We are encouraged by the grantee projects that will preserve the history and educate thousands about the importance of the Underground Railroad to the United States today.”

Stephanie Gilbert

Stephanie Gilbert

Stephanie Gilbert is the 2nd great granddaughter of Oliver Cromwell Kelly Gilbert. Stephanie resides just outside of Philadelphia, PA and acts as the family's historian and archivist. The family's archives are extensive, as the Gilbert family history includes the unpublished memoirs of Oliver Gilbert, the founding of the AME Church (Reverend Clayton Durham - Stephanie's 4th great grandfather), the primary source archives of the Wilmington, NC massacre (Alexander Manly - relative), the founding of Jack and Jill of America (Mary Gilbert Manly and Helen Chase Gilbert - relatives), The Moors of Delaware (Durham ancestors), etc.

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