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Harriet Tubman National Historical Park is America’s newest national treasure
The upstate New York location is set to focus on women’s suffrage
First, Harriet Tubman got the $20 bill. Now, she’s got her own park!
On Tuesday, Sally Jewell, the secretary of the interior, led the official signing ceremony to make the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park the 414th unit of the National Park System. Jewell was joined by U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and Charles Schumer (D-New York), and U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus), as well as community and park partners.
The Auburn, New York, site is composed of Tubman’s upstate residence and her church, which were approximately 25 miles west of Syracuse, New York. It will focus on the abolitionist’s work in the women’s suffrage movement and her later years.
This park will be the sister site to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Cambridge, Maryland, which was initially established as a national monument by presidential proclamation in March 2013, and designated as a national historical park in December 2014 by Congress.
“It is our great privilege to share in the stewardship of two national historical parks devoted to commemorating the life and work of Harriet Tubman,” Jewell said. “These two parks preserve and showcase a more complete history of one of America’s pivotal humanitarians who, at great personal risk, did so much to secure the freedom of hundreds of formerly enslaved people. Her selfless commitment to a more perfect union is testament that one determined person — no matter her station in life or the odds against her — can make a tremendous difference.”
When spring arrives, the National Park Service plans to host a celebration of the new park.