New Virtual Museum Lets You Explore Harriet Tubman’s Teenage Home

Most people know Harriet Tubman as the Black abolitionist who led about 70 enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, but that’s just part of her story. The former enslaved woman also helped lead the Combahee River Raid, freeing about 750 more enslaved people and making her the first woman in U.S. history to run a military campaign. Tubman’s accomplishments as an adult are part of many school curricula, but her family background may be less widely known. Now, a new virtual museum provides a glimpse into Tubman’s father Ben Ross’s home, revealing parts of their lives to the public for the first time. 

According to Smithsonian, the Maryland Department of Transportation‘s (MDOT) online museum showcases artifacts from Ben Ross’s home in Dorchester County, Maryland, where Tubman (then named Araminta “Minty” Ross) lived as a teenager. Such treasures allow archaeologists—as well as the general public—to understand how enslaved and freed people survived during the Antebellum period. Artifacts include kitchen items from the 19th century, such as pieces of intricately decorated ceramics, cast iron cookware, and polished animal bones. These items imply that the family prepared one-pot meals with meat, vegetables, and broth. Other pieces include a copper alloy furniture handle that was likely attached to some sort of chest and a white clay tobacco pipe with an American eagle motif. Some artifacts also belonged to Native peoples who resided in the area for centuries before Ben Ross settled there. 

These discoveries were years in the making. Smithsonian reports that historians suspected Ross’s home was located in Peter’s Neck, Maryland—however, archaeologists couldn’t access it until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired the land in 2020. It took four years to analyze all the artifacts once the place was found. 

Ross’s home, located within the boundaries of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, isn’t open to the public due to its remote setting and the threat of rising sea levels. For now, it’s only available to visit virtually. You can find more detailed pictures and 3D renderings on The Ben Ross Homeplace website.  

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