Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, part of Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

TOUR DETAILS

The only way to see the interior of the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged is on a two-hour guided tour, which is held twice a day on Tuesdays through Saturdays. There is a fee, and reservations must be made by calling the non-profit organization that manages the house, The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc., at (315) 252-2081. There is a limit of 25 people per tour. If you have a larger group, be sure to mention this when making a reservation.

HOME TOUR

The tour begins in the Visitor Center with a one-hour presentation on Harriet Tubman’s life before continuing outside to the Home for the Aged. If you are thinking this lengthy introduction might be a bore, don’t let it deter you from taking the tour. (I’m a poet and don’t know it.) This is probably one of the most entertaining and educational presentations I have ever had the pleasure of attending. As previously stated, the Home for the Aged is managed by The Harriet Tubman Home, Inc., and the volunteer responsible for the management of the property has been giving tours for almost three decades.

Tour of the Home for the Aged begins with a presentation in the Visitor Center, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

Once outside, the tour stops in front of the Home for the Aged where the presentation continues with some information about the property and the grounds.

Group tour of the Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

After entering the home, the first stop is the living room. Most of the furniture and items on display throughout the home are period pieces that portray what the rooms may have looked like in the early 1900s when the building was used as a home for elderly and indigent African Americans.

Living Room in the Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

While the home is two stories, the tour does not include the second floor because those rooms, mostly comprised of sleeping quarters, have not been restored. To give tour participants an idea of what is upstairs, one room on the bottom floor has been set up as a bedroom. The furniture in the room belonged to one of Harriet Tubman’s brothers, and she used it whenever she went to visit him at his house. The brother’s family donated the furniture to the Home for the Aged. The bible displayed on the nightstand was Tubman’s personal bible.

Bedroom in the Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

The tour continues through the kitchen and into the dining room. The sewing machine on display belonged to Tubman and was also donated by her brother’s family. A couple other family items include the larger bowl in the middle of the dining table and the marble clock atop the cabinet.

Dining Room in the Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

Kitchen in the Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman National Historical Park

The tour of the interior only lasts about 15 minutes. Keep in mind, the tour guide is very adamant about always having eyes on everyone, so there is little time to linger as you make your way through the house.

HISTORY OF THE HOME FOR THE AGED

Harriet Tubman moved to Auburn, New York, after purchasing a seven-acre farm and house in 1859 from U.S. Senator William Seward and his wife, Frances. Tubman, who was known for her social activism and humanitarian efforts, eventually opened her personal residence to those who were unable to provide for themselves, especially the disabled and the elderly. To expand her ability to house more people, in 1896 she bid on the 25-acre farm next door at a public auction and secured the property through a mortgage. The farm included a wooden frame house and a brick building along with a few outbuildings. She used the wood frame house for what she called the Home for the Aged and Indigent Negros.

In 1903, now elderly herself and struggling to pay the mortgage, she deeded the property to the A.M.E. Zion Church, of which she was a member. The Church made a commitment to Tubman to continue running the home in her name. It raised enough money to renovate the brick building on the property, and in 1908 the second facility of the Home for the Aged, known as John Brown Hall, was opened.

Due to her deteriorating health, Tubman moved into the Home for the Aged in 1911 and lived there until her death in 1913. The Church continued to run the facility until the last remaining resident died in the early 1920s, at which time the buildings fell into disrepair. In 1949, John Brown Hall was destroyed by a fire, leaving just the frame house standing.

In 1953, the A.M.E. Zion Church—which still owns the property to this day—restored the frame house and dedicated it as a memorial to Tubman’s life and work. In 1975, the Tubman Home for the Aged was designated as a National Historic Landmark. It became part of the National Park System in 2017 along with the Harriet Tubman House and the Thompson A.M.E. Zion Church and parsonage.

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