Adkins Arboretum

Adkins Arboretum. Slavery's Arboretum. , The forests and waterways of the Eastern Shore, traditional land of the Choptank and Nanticoke Indians, provided the backup for the austere home life, backbreaking labor, and dramatic escapes of enslaved blacks., Hundreds of acres of white oak, black walnut, poplar, hickory and sweet gum trees, located near river transportation provided income to local landowners. Harriet Tubman and her father Ben Ross not only graded and harvested timber, but Harriet also learned lessons for living off the land., Little things, learned by living close to nature, spelled success or failure on the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers applied their practical knowledge to survive. Fruit trees offered food. Greenbrier thickets ripped clothes and scratched bodies. Spiked sweet gum balls pierced hurried feet, but the tree’s resin soothed painful wounds., Walk the trails ahead and enter the natural lifeline that helped or hindered the flight to freedom., [Caption:] , Left: The spiny fruit of sweet gum tree is easy to recognize. A pioneer tree, sweet gum often sprout in areas that have been logged.