Former home of enslaved people found near Harriet Tubman’s birthplace in Maryland

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — joined by local, state and federal officials — announced Tuesday the discovery of a home where enslaved people lived, located on the 1,000-acre Thompson Farm where Harriet Tubman was born in 1822. 

The home, which at one time housed more than 40 enslaved people, is believed to have possibly belonged to enslaved overseer Jerry Manokey, the Maryland Department of Transportation said in a news release. 

“Harriet Tubman’s birthplace is sacred ground, and this discovery is part of our ongoing commitment to preserve the legacy of those who lived here,” Moore said in the news conference at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center in Church Creek on Tuesday. “The find reveals untold stories of the past that help us both understand the history we share and inspire us to make a better future.”  

This follows the April 2021 announcement of the discovery of the home Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross, the transportation department said. 

The latest home discovery is on private property, while the archaeological remains of Ross’s home are located on the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, the transportation department said.

State archeologists have been searching for the homes of those enslaved on the Thompson Farm for more than two years. The team uncovered a substantial brick building foundation of the home beneath layers of soil, according to the transportation department.

Archeologist also discovered a West African spirit cache, used to protect the home’s occupants from negative spirits. That included a glass heart-shaped perfume bottle stopper, a white ceramic dish, and a copper alloy button, the transportation department said.