We recently watched the movie Harriet, so today’s visit to the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, gave us a fuller picture of a woman many of us first learned about as one of the courageous conductors of the Underground Railroad.
Her daring rescue missions are, of course, an essential part of her story. As a conductor, Tubman returned to Dorchester County, Maryland, 13 times, helping to bring approximately 70 family members and friends to freedom. Her courage and leadership earned her the powerful nickname “Moses of Her People.”
Harriet Tubman’s Life in Freedom
But this site in Auburn, NY, reveals what came afterward: decades of family life, community service, political activism, and determination to care for others. Tubman moved to the Auburn area in 1859, settling on land sold to her by William H. Seward, the prominent New York politician who would later serve as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State. Central New York was already a center of abolitionist and women’s-rights activity, making it a fitting home for someone who had spent her life challenging injustice. It also connected nicely with our visit last year to Women’s Rights National Historical Park and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Home in Seneca Falls, New York.
This National Park site is spread among several locations and is managed by different organizations, which we found a little confusing. Eventually, we figured out that the essential Harriet Tubman trail in Auburn involves three main stops: the Harriet Tubman Home, Tubman’s grave at Fort Hill Cemetery, and Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church.
Harriet Tubman Home
This site includes Tubman’s residence and the Home for the Aged, which she established to care for elderly and impoverished African Americans.
These buildings may be less famous than the Underground Railroad, but they say something important about her character. Tubman did not stop working once she and members of her family had reached freedom. She continued helping people for the rest of her life, often while struggling with limited money and declining health herself.
The docent at this site was animated and engaging, walking us through a timeline of Tubman’s life from childhood. It was remarkable to hear again how much Tubman had endured before arriving in Auburn: enslavement, escape, repeated journeys back south, and service during the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman is often remembered in heroic terms, but here she also becomes a neighbor, homeowner, church member, and caregiver. She lived in the Auburn area for more than half a century and became an important part of the community. Her entire life was devoted to freedom, dignity, and service to others.
Tubman’s Grave
Harriet Tubman is buried with family members in Auburn’s Fort Hill Cemetery. Her grave is marked by a granite monument and a large spruce planted by relatives. Since it is not well marked, we found the grave’s location with the help of AI, which felt like a very modern way to honor a very historic and important life.
Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church and Parsonage
The beautifully restored Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church represents Tubman’s spiritual and community life. She helped raise money for its construction, worshipped there after it opened in 1891, and worked with the congregation to assist poor residents and newly arrived freedom seekers. Her final funeral service was held inside the church in March 1913.
The church is located next to the National Park Service office, which was the former parsonage— the home where generations of pastors of the Parker Street church lived with their families. Unfortunately, due to government cutbacks, the office and parsonage were closed to us during our visit. Even so, seeing the church from the outside helped complete the Auburn story. The Underground Railroad explains Tubman’s courage, but Auburn helps explain her lifelong commitment. Freedom, for Tubman, was never only about escape. It was about building a life, lifting others, and continuing the work long after the most famous chapter had ended.
Auburn was not simply where her remarkable journey ended. It was where she built a home, reunited family members, and put her ideals into practice through abolition work, women’s suffrage advocacy, and care for the elderly and poor. This was an extraordinary undertaking for a Black woman who had herself been denied education, property, and wages for much of her life.