Madison in Dorchester County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Madison
Preparing for Freedom
— Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway —
Harriet Tubman spent her formative years in and around Madison, once called Tobaccostick. As a young woman, she worked for Joseph Stewart in his home and fields, until she joined her father Ben Ross in Stewart’s lumber harvesting operation. Tubman was a strong and independent worker with a network of useful contacts among the lumbermen, dockworkers, and watermen who frequented Madison.
Free and enslaved black mariners were part of an extensive, secret network of communication, helping connect far-flung black communities and separated families to one another and sometimes helping freedom seekers escape. These associates were vital to Tubman’s success on the Underground Railroad.
With help from Tubman and her connections, Winnebar Johnson fled from here in June 1854, settling with other Eastern Shore escapees in the whaling community of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Later the same year, Jacob Jackson, who lived nearby, carried a coded message from Tubman to her brothers telling them to prepare to run away at Christmas.
Erected by America's Byways; Maryland Heritage Area Authority. (Marker Number 10.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans . In addition, it is included in the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1854.
Location. 38° 30.516′ N, 76° 13.434′ W. Marker is in Madison, Maryland, in Dorchester County. Marker is on Madison Canning House Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4814 Madison Canning House Road, Madison MD 21648, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Gethsemane Methodist Protestant Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Malone's Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Trinity P.E. Church (approx. 3.1 miles away); Writer, War Strategist, Enigma (approx. 3.1 miles away); Walk the Old Trinity Heritage Trail (approx. 3.1 miles away); New Revived Church (approx. 3.7 miles away); Finding Freedom (approx. 3.9 miles away); Treaty Oak (approx. 4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Madison.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 27, 2022
Credits. This page was last revised on August 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 10, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 729 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on November 21, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on November 10, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on August 30, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on November 10, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 4, 5. submitted on November 21, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.