Public Workshops for the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Plan

This isn’t an especially political post, but it does touch on trying to preserve some of Delaware’s most vital political history.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Corridor in Delaware is the next leg of a Byway that traces one of the major routes for escorting persons held in slavery in the South to the North. The Delaware portion would be the second piece of this Byway, connecting the the Maryland portion that ends at the MD-DE line. The Delaware portion would start from the MD-DE state line and go though Camden, Star Hill, Dover, Middletown, Odessa, Port Penn, Delaware City, New Castle, and Wilmington showcasing these communities’ Underground Railroad history. www.harriettubmandelaware.com is the website documenting this project — maps, project status and other data are kept there. I’m hoping that some of the readers of this blog will be interested in attending one of these public meetings and perhaps getting involved with the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware. This is the Press Release:

All are welcome and encouraged to attend a Public Workshop Series for the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Corridor Management Plan. Workshops are scheduled for these dates and locations:

June 20 – Historic Odessa Bank
201 Main Street, Odessa, DE

June 21 – Camden Friends Meeting
122 East Camden-Wyoming Ave, Camden, DE

June 22 – Wilmington Friends Meeting House,
401 North West Street, Wilmington, DE

All workshops will be held between 6:00 – 7:30 pm, with a presentation scheduled at 6:15 and & 7:00.

Each workshop presents the same information, so choose the one most convenient for you. All locations are handicapped accessible.

The workshops are being held to provide the public with information about the Harriet Tubman Byway, give them an opportunity to view maps, ask questions and voice any concerns. Information gathered from these workshops will help in drafting the Corridor Management Plan.

Please visit the project website at www.harriettubmandelaware.com for background information and maps.

The Delaware Byway begins where the Maryland HTUR Byway leaves off at Sandtown, Kent County, and follows a meandering but meaningful route through the communities of Camden, Star Hill, Dover, Middletown, Odessa, Port Penn, Delaware City, New Castle, and Wilmington. The Byway has been conceived to connect up some of the Underground Railroad sites and related landscapes that were important in the Underground Railroad trips of Harriet Tubman and other freedom-seekers through Delaware.

It is hoped that this bi-state byway eventually will grow to include Pennsylvania and New York, stretching to Tubman’s home in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada.

For further information, contact DelDOT Planning, annamay.Decker@state.de.us, 302-760-2114

I’ll be at the Wilmington meeting, and hope to see many of you there!