Harriet Tubman Museum of New Jersey
harriet tubman’s life and work in cape may
Harriet Tubman lived in Cape May in the early 1850s, working to help fund her missions to guide enslaved people to freedom. After her initial journeys conducting freedom seekers to Canada, her friend and abolitionist leader Franklin Sanborn wrote, “She returned to the states, and as usual earned money by working in hotels and families as a cook. From Cape May, in the fall of 1852, she went back once more to Maryland, and brought away nine more fugitives.” The New Jersey Historical Commission says she spent two other summers in Cape May.
cape may: A nexus between north and south
Cape May played a pivotal role in the fight to end slavery. Several historic figures critical to the fight against slavery spent their summers in Cape May.
lafayette street and franklin street: the center of abolitionist activism in cape may
The Harriet Tubman Museum building is located on a block that anti-slavery activists called home in Cape May. Lafayette Street and Franklin Street became a center of abolitionist activity centered around three important buildings developed in 1846.
The Stephen Smith House stands at 645 Lafayette Street, across from the site of the Harriet Tubman Museum, where Stephen Smith built his summer home in 1846. Smith was a founder of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.
The Banneker House was next to the Stephen Smith House. The Banneker House became a first-class hotel and one of the only summer resorts for free Black people in the country and was developed by James Harding, a friend of Stephen Smith.
The white Baptist Church was located directly across the street from the Stephen Smith House and Joseph Leach frequently preached there. Leach was a political leader and editor of the Ocean Wave newspaper, where he often wrote accounts of enslaved people that fled to Cape May. The congregation of the church issued a strong condemnation of slavery.
a museum to honor her courage
The Harriet Tubman Museum is a tribute to the rich history of abolitionist activism on this block
Tubman funded her Underground Railroad voyages by working in Cape May
The Harriet Tubman Museum highlights the pivotal role Cape May played in the fight for freedom
