Last month, we featured three destinations that provided an introduction to the curated trail that marks the abolitionist and underground railroad operator’s journey out of bondage and into freedom. In honor of the freedom implicit in this month’s holiday, we bring you three more destinations from the trail, to help both locals and visitors get to know what is offered by following in these powerful footsteps.

Brodess Farm

Tucked up a curve in the Chesapeake Bay in Bucktown, Maryland, the rolling acres on the site of the Brodess Farm reflect an almost eerily peaceful tranquility for being the site where one of the the greatest freedom fighters in our nation’s history was held in the bondage of slavery. Her captor, Edward Brodess, had too little acreage to require the use of all the people he enslaved, and so was in the habit of leasing out their labor to others, many of whom were far crueler than Brodess was himself. Tubman, an often sick child who experienced fainting spells and had a passionate attendance to her own will, was routinely punished with physical abuse for her failure to perform advanced tasks at a young age. The scars Tubman acquired during her time living under Brodess’ captivity stayed with her and became some of her most noted characteristics even until her death. A visit to her childhood home offers an opportunity for reflection and context to the historically minded traveler.

Bucktown General Store

Standing under the centuries old timbers surrounded by the hand hewn metal trappings of a bygone era, visitors to the Bucktown General Store report feeling overwhelmed with a sense of awe and majesty upon realizing that they are truly occupying a space that set the course of young Harriet Tubman’s life. It was in this store that Harriet was asked by an overseer not her own to help tie up an enslaved person who had left his task. When Tubman resisted the command, she gave the opportunity for the man to break free, causing the overseer to hurl a two pound weight in his direction. The weight struck Tubman in the head, cracking her skull and leaving her with a lifelong injury. She was forced to go back to work that same day with sweat and blood dripping into her eyes, according to her own recollection. That the store is still standing is a testament to the many volunteers and history lovers who play a role in its continued maintenance and operation.

Bestpitch Ferry Bridge

Learning about history from behind books and computer screens may provide us a wealth of information at our fingertips, but when it comes to the realities of slavery, it fails to capture the truth of the experience in a way that touches the senses. Visitors to theBestpitch Ferry Bridge, where enslaved people seeking freedom on the underground railroad would hide in the salt marshes, will be fully enveloped in the trappings of the valiant escapees heading north. The waterways paved a permissive path to freedom because the setting helped to mask a human scent, the tidewaters teem with fish, crustaceans, and other edible fare, and because both free and enslaved Black boatmen operated ferries and barges in the area, often smuggling folks to freedom. Living off the land, people escaping slavery could find the marshes to be a hospitable locale for weeks at a time.

This story was originally published July 11, 2022 9:00 AM.