Lost? Don’t worry—we’re here to guide you on your journey.

Annapolis’s history as a successful port and capital city is intertwined with the history of slavery and freedom in America. The work of free, indentured, and enslaved laborers built the economic success of this colonial town. From its earliest beginnings, enslaved Africans were brought to Annapolis to labor for wealthy gentry, planters, businessmen and landowners. The story of captive African Kunte Kinte, who arrived in 1767, was made famous through the book and movie Roots[...]

Home to a large population of free and enslaved Blacks, and sympathetic whites, Underground Railroad support grew in Maryland in the years leading to emancipation. Many of the nation’s best-known Underground Railroad leaders emerged in this environment. These agents and untold more guided Underground Railroad passengers to safety and fought for their freedom. Explore their stories at The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum and at the[...]

Myths & Facts About Harriet Tubman Myth: Harriet Tubman rescued 300 people in 19 trips. Fact: According to Tubman’s own words, and extensive documentation on her rescue missions, we know that she rescued about 70 people – family and friends – during approximately 13 trips to Maryland. During public and private meetings during 1858 and 1859, Tubman repeatedly told people that she had rescued 50 to 60 people in 8 or 9 trips. This was[...]

The National Park Service created the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom to commemorate the places and people who shaped the journey to freedom. Network to Freedom sites are documented places where the enslaved escaped from bondage, the routes they took, places where they stayed or found assistance, and sometimes places where their freedom was tried and tested. Network to Freedom programs provide authentic information about the Underground Railroad and people who escaped. Network to[...]

BALTIMORE, MD (August 22, 2024) — Governor Wes Moore today proclaimed September 2024 as the sixth annual International Underground Railroad Month in Maryland. The month acknowledges the significance of the Underground Railroad, and all those involved, for its contribution to the eradication of legal enslavement in the United States and as a cornerstone for the more comprehensive civil rights movement that followed. “The heroes of the Underground Railroad continue to have an international impact even[...]

A Timeline of Frederick Douglass’s Life in Maryland and Beyond February 1818 - Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey born at Holme Hill Farm near Easton. August 1824 - Sent to live on Lloyd Plantation, Wye River, at the home of his master, Aaron Anthony. February 1825 - Mother visits him for the last time before her death late in 1825 or early in 1826. March 1826 - Sent to live with Hugh Auld family in the[...]