Archaeologists in Maryland have unearthed the remains of a home belonging to Harriet Tubman’s father.
The home site of Ben Ross was found on the 2,600-acre Peter’s Neck property that was purchased last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an addition to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge for $6 million. An archaeology group led by the State Highway Administration made the discovery.
The team began searching for evidence linked to Ross in November. When they returned to the site in March, Archaeologist Julie Schablitsky and her team located artifacts dating back to the 1800s, including glass, nails, a button, and dish fragments. On Tuesday, they confirmed that the artifacts were once in Ross’s cabin.
Schablitsky explained that Tubman, born Araminta Ross in March 1822, likely spent time at the site in her childhood and teenage years, where she worked alongside her father.
“This was the opportunity she had to learn about how to navigate and survive in the wetlands and the woods. We believe this experience was able to benefit her when she began to move people to freedom,” said Schablitsky.
The land purchased by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contains 10 acres given to Ross by Anthony Thompson in the 1800s. In Thompson’s will, he ordered Ross to be freed five years after his death in 1836. Ross was ultimately granted freedom and given the land in the early 1840s. The Thompson Farm will highlight the home site.
The home site will also be added as a new point of interest to the 125 miles self-guided Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.
