Freedom Fighters

Highlights Include:

• Dorchester County Visitor Center
• Dorchester County Courthouse
• Long Wharf
• Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center
• Stanley Institute Museum
• Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park
• Broodes Farm / Buck Town
• Leverton House
• Webb Cabin
• Jonestown
• Mount Pleasant Cemetery
• Linchester Mill
• National Museum of African American History & Culture
• DC City Touring
• Frederick Douglass Home / Cedar Hill
• Ben’s Chili Bowl
• National Portrait Gallery
• Arlington National Cemetery
• Monument & Memorial Tour

• Arrive in Maryland and settle into your MARS-Partner property hotel.
• After a day of travel, unwind with a Welcome Dinner to kick off your exploration of the Freedom Fighters Tour.

• Start with breakfast at the hotel before diving into a day rich with history.
• Explore significant sites in Dorchester County, including the Dorchester County Visitor Center, Dorchester County Courthouse, and Long Wharf.
• Visit the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center.  Underground Railroad ‘conductor’ Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County in 1822. At this small museum in downtown Cambridge – just a few miles from where she grew up – learn of the strength, courage, and determination of this remarkable woman.  The Harriet Tubman Museum & Education Center was started in the 1980s – and is still run by – dedicated local volunteers who want to share Harriet Tubman’s story and preserve her legacy. The museum building features a powerful and moving mural of Harriet Tubman, “Take My Hand,” that has attracted attention from around the country. The mural was commissioned by the Dorchester Center for the Arts and completed in 2019 by artist Michael Rosato. Inside the museum, another Michael Rosato mural re-creates the Bucktown General Store – the site of Tubman’s first act of defiance – with murals on each of the four walls. The Tubman Museum offers exhibits, art related to the Underground Railroad, a short film about Tubman’s life, a resource area, and a gift shop.
• Discover history at the Stanley Institute Museum. This 19th century one-room African American schoolhouse was moved to this location in 1867. It is one of the oldest Maryland schools to be organized and maintained by a black community. It ceased operations as a school in July 1966. The school was named in honor of the Reverend Ezekiel Stanley. Between 1867 and 1962, the youth in the African-American community of Christ Rock attended this school, also known as Rock School, which is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The site is also part of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.  The school serves a reminder of what schools were like back in the years between the Civil War and the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Enjoy a boxed lunch as you delve deeper into Harriet Tubman's legacy at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park and Visitor Center.
• Explore historical landmarks such as:
  • Broodes Farm / Bucktown Store, Harriet Tubman's "First Known Act of Defiance" and one of the only existing structures in the area that Tubman was known to have visited.
  • The Jacob and Hannah Leverton Home. Refugees from slavery found sanctuary here. One morning in the mid-1840s, a young enslaved woman, covered in bloodstained clothing, walked up to the Leverton farm. Jacob and Hannah took her in, nursed and fed her, and gave her clean clothing. Jacob was seen later that night traveling northward in his carriage with an unidentified guest. The young woman’s enslaver inquired about her at the Leverton home the next day. Jacob told the man that he had helped the girl and then “let her pass on.” The infuriated slave owner sued Jacob Leverton. Ordered to pay a large fine, Jacob became ill and soon died. His wife, Hannah most likely continued their Underground Railroad efforts. Jacob and Hannah Leverton were white, Quaker abolitionists. Their house has been described as “the main stopping place for the Underground Railroad in the region.” Along with the Levertons, free black millwright Daniel Hubbard and Quakers Jonah and Esther Kelley provided havens on their properties to help slaves reach freedom.
  • Webb Cabin.  James H. Webb, a free African-American farmer, built this hand-hewn log home around 1852 and lived here with his enslaved wife and their four children – Charles, Elizabeth, John and Ann, and Webb’s father, Henry. The family were members of nearby Mount Pleasant Church. The one-room home, with its “potato hole,” open fireplace, and loft accessed by a crude ladder, was built of materials found nearby. It sits on its original ballast-stone foundation from ships that plied the Chesapeake Bay.
  • Jonestown.  Jenkins Jones established Jonestown as a community of free African-Americans in antebellum years. Jenkins and other free blacks wished to improve their destiny through education, so they founded a school and hired teachers to stay in the community and teach their children. The courageous Jonestown residents had the common bond of faith in God, which gave them hope for their future. They used this faith to empower themselves to create positive change for themselves. The people of Jonestown may have had connections in assisting Harriet Tubman and her rescue missions. Today, descendants of the original founders of Jonestown are successful professionals with firm roots in this community.
  • Mount Pleasant Cemetery.  This is the site of the original Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church, an African-American church community established in 1849 when local Quakers sold this land to free blacks, so they could build their own church. The congregation later moved to the town of Preston, where they still meet for services. This cemetery is still used by the church.
  • Linchester Mill. Daily life around Linchester Mill provided fertile yet dangerous ground for those seeking freedom. Whites and blacks, free and enslaved, would have regular contact here, at the general store or the post office. Free and enslaved African Americans worked side-by-side, providing a constant flow of information and support to freedom seekers. Quakers and free blacks who lived near the mill secretly helped fleeing slaves pass through the area.
• Conclude with an evening dinner celebrating a day of discoveries.

• After breakfast at the hotel, depart for Washington, DC.
• Spend a glorious day exploring the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC), the newest on the National Mall, this popular museum documents African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution
• Indulge in a delicious dinner before checking in to your quiet & relaxing hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside the District.

• Begin the day with breakfast at the hotel and meet your licensed DC Tour Guide.
• Explore Frederick Douglass' home at Cedar Hill.  Frederick Douglass spent his life fighting for justice and equality. Born into slavery in 1818, he escaped as a young man and became a leading voice in the abolitionist movement. People everywhere still find inspiration today in his tireless struggle, brilliant words, and inclusive vision of humanity. Douglass's legacy is preserved here at Cedar Hill, where he lived his last 17 years.
• Visit the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House. Mary McLeod Bethune achieved her greatest recognition at the Washington, DC townhouse that is now this National Historic Site. The Council House was the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and was Bethune’s last home in Washington, DC. From here, Bethune and the NCNW spearheaded strategies and developed programs that advanced the interests of African American women.
• See Lincoln Park, the largest Capitol Hill Park and features monuments to two of the nation's greatest leaders: President Abraham Lincoln and educator and Civil Rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune. It is located directly east of the United States Capitol Building at East Capitol and 11th Streets in the Northeastern quadrant of the City.
• Embark on a comprehensive City Tour of Washington, DC, stopping at iconic locations like the White House, WWI Memorial, Black Lives Matter Plaza, and more.
• Enjoy lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl, where it is not uncommon to see such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King Jr., Donny Hathaway, Roy Ayers or Bill Cosby at "The Bowl.”
• Continue with a Driving & Walking Tour highlighting significant sites including Howard University, Black Broadway, & the African American Civil War Memorial.
• Visit the National Portrait Gallery and see Presidents Portraits Hall before an included dinner.
• Conclude the day with an stunning Illuminated Monuments and Memorials Tour.  The Nation's Capital is impressive during the day, but breathtaking and stunning at night with all monuments lit with a warm glow.

• After breakfast at the hotel, check out and depart for your final day of adventure.
• Visit Arlington National Cemetery, America's most sacred square mile.  Tram tickets are included for your visit.  Be sure to arrive early to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• Explore monuments and memorials including the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial, FDR Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and more.
• Enjoy lunch at the Assembly Food Hall before departing for home.