The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center Opens This Weekend

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- A one of a kind facility opens this weekend honoring the legacy of Maryland native Harriet Tubman.

The location of the new visitor center on the Eastern Shore is significant, it is where Harriet Tubman was born but bravely returned, leading others to freedom.

It's a visitor center that celebrates the triumphs and tragedies of Tubman's life.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center revealed the thoughts of a runaway slave, who risked her life and returned to the dangers of the South to free friends and family.

Some of those descendants were present as witnesses.

"This is like a new birth that's not going to die" said Valerie Manokey, Tubman's great great niece.

The visitor center in the only one under the National Park Service dedicated to the history of Harriet Tubman.

"What really strikes me is that when she got free, she could have just stayed free, she didn't have to come back, but she risked her own life," said Amanda Fenstermaker of Dorchester County Tourism.

The open land surrounding the building  in Dorchester County was preserved on purpose.

There was a commemoration from the community surrounded by her legacy and a vivid reenactment for the family that carries her spirit.

"Looking down she would have been very excited, but she didn't do it for the recognition, she did it because it was the right thign to do," said Charles Ross, Tubman's great great great nephew.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center opens to the public this weekend. Once it opens, admission to the center will be free.

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