The site we were the most eager to see during our recent trip to New York was the Harriet Tubman Home, just a couple miles from the Seward House Museum. Fun fact: Harriet purchased the land around 1859 from Frances Seward, who was then the wife of a U.S. Senator from New York, William Seward. Frances had inherited the land & home the Seward family lived in from her father, Judge Elijah Miller, as her husband William helped pass a New York law in 1848 that allowed women to inherit property under certain conditions. While Frances would have given Harriet the land free of charge as they had both worked closely together as part of the Underground Railroad,, Harriet insisted on paying $1200 for a 7-acre parcel that included a small wooden farmhouse. Frances was actually breaking the law: The transfer of a land to a self-emancipated woman was illegal under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Frances didn't care & took the risk anyway. She figured that due to her husband's status as a Senator, that no one would dare take action. And no one did.
For over 100 years, the AME Zion Church has been the guardian of this important historical site, and the work they've done & continue to do is incredibly impressive. There is a lot of confusion regarding their status with the National Parks Service (NPS); while they have a partnership of sorts, the AME Zion Church is the one doing all of the heavy lifting & they are the ones putting the time & money into the repair, upkeep, and most importantly, the almost daily tours they provide. While their partnership with the NPS is somewhat "frozen" while the new administration figures out funding, I can't state enough how much this site needs support from anyone willing & able to give it.
As a humble wedding videographer I certainly have no secret fortune to leave them, but all of us can help by signing up for one of their tours, which they perform twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday, at 10am and 2pm, for a very reasonable fee (under $20 per person). These tours are almost two hours long, but the time flies by and you'll be sad it's over so quickly. I guarantee you will learn things you never knew, and you'll be captivated by the storytelling. The first hour focuses on Harriet's story, and you do get to sit during this time. The house you're able to tour is the one Harriet's parents & siblings lived in, and eventually it became a home for the aged. Also on the property is the home Harriet lived in near the end of her life with her second husband, Nelson Davis, though it is currently in the middle of a long restoration. Not far from these two homes is the AME Zion Church, but because of the NPS issue, the church is unfortunately not open for tours at this time (May 2025). Harriet Tubman Davis is buried nearby at Fort Hill Cemetery.
Though the home you're able to tour does not have much that belonged to the family, the in-depth stories you will learn more than make up for the lack of family relics. It truly is a master class on Harriet & her life, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Stay tuned, for I'll be doing an in-depth video on Harriet, her life, and this site in the near future. If you don't want to miss it, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel (thecivilwarproject_tcwp) & hit the bell for notifications.
For over 100 years, the AME Zion Church has been the guardian of this important historical site, and the work they've done & continue to do is incredibly impressive. There is a lot of confusion regarding their status with the National Parks Service (NPS); while they have a partnership of sorts, the AME Zion Church is the one doing all of the heavy lifting & they are the ones putting the time & money into the repair, upkeep, and most importantly, the almost daily tours they provide. While their partnership with the NPS is somewhat "frozen" while the new administration figures out funding, I can't state enough how much this site needs support from anyone willing & able to give it.
As a humble wedding videographer I certainly have no secret fortune to leave them, but all of us can help by signing up for one of their tours, which they perform twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday, at 10am and 2pm, for a very reasonable fee (under $20 per person). These tours are almost two hours long, but the time flies by and you'll be sad it's over so quickly. I guarantee you will learn things you never knew, and you'll be captivated by the storytelling. The first hour focuses on Harriet's story, and you do get to sit during this time. The house you're able to tour is the one Harriet's parents & siblings lived in, and eventually it became a home for the aged. Also on the property is the home Harriet lived in near the end of her life with her second husband, Nelson Davis, though it is currently in the middle of a long restoration. Not far from these two homes is the AME Zion Church, but because of the NPS issue, the church is unfortunately not open for tours at this time (May 2025). Harriet Tubman Davis is buried nearby at Fort Hill Cemetery.
Though the home you're able to tour does not have much that belonged to the family, the in-depth stories you will learn more than make up for the lack of family relics. It truly is a master class on Harriet & her life, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Stay tuned, for I'll be doing an in-depth video on Harriet, her life, and this site in the near future. If you don't want to miss it, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel (thecivilwarproject_tcwp) & hit the bell for notifications.
 Harriet Tubman's home for her parents & siblings. Eventually she turned it into a home for the aged. |  Inside the visitor's center, where the tour begins. |  In the white house, this is a gathering space & contains some items from the family. |
 A bedroom within the white house; it contains a bed that Harriet slept in, along with her bible. |  The kitchen in the white house; most of this is from the time period |  This brick home was Harriet's last home, which was built by her second husband, Nelson Davis. The original home Harriet Tubman Davis lived in was destroyed by fire, so Nelson built this home using the same foundation. |
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