Maryland Department of Transportation

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION UNVEILS NEW HISTORICAL MARKER HONORING HARRIET TUBMAN’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maryland Department of Transportation Office of Public Affairs
David Broughton, 410-599-9428

Updated Sign Corrects Historical Inaccuracies and Recognizes Tubman’s Legacy and Contribution to the Underground Railroad

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The Maryland Department of Transportation unveiled a new, updated roadside historical marker honoring the life, legacy and courage of Maryland native Harriet Tubman, her contributions to American history and the fight for freedom. (MDOT photo by David Trozzo)​

CAMBRIDGE, MD (September 17, 2025) – The Maryland Department of Transportation unveiled a new, updated roadside historical marker honoring the life, legacy and courage of Maryland native Harriet Tubman, her contributions to American history and the fight for freedom. Today’s unveiling ceremony took place during International Underground Railroad Month and on the date Tubman escaped slavery in 1849. Attendees gathered at the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center in Cambridge including state and local leaders, relatives of the abolitionist and community members.

“We remember Harriet Tubman for her fearless and selfless service to others,” said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Strategy with the Maryland Department of Transportation Jawauna Greene. “The Maryland Department of Transportation is proud to unveil and display this new and updated historical marker.”

The newly unveiled marker includes updated language that Tubman’s relatives helped craft and corrects an inaccurate sign that was installed in 1967 as part of the Civil War centennial. The former sign included incorrect information about Tubman’s birthplace and the number of enslaved people she led to freedom.

Following the unveiling ceremony, crews replaced the former historical marker and installed the new, updated one in its place along Greenbrier Road in Bucktown in front of the former farm of her enslaver, Edward Brodess. The old marker will be donated to the Harriet Tubman Freedom Center and used as a teaching tool to show the importance of historical accuracy and the evolving language around slavery.

This new roadside marker is part of an initiative by the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Historical Trust to review markers that highlight the state’s untold stories and correct ones with historical inaccuracies and insensitive language. To learn more about Tubman’s time in Maryland and see artifacts found at her father’s home, visit the Maryland Department of Transportation’s virtual museum. For more information on the Maryland Roadside Historical Marker program click here​.

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