National Park Service opens Auburn church where Harriet Tubman worshipped (2024)

AUBURN — As Ahna Wilson welcomed attendees to a ceremony at the Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church, the site of Harriet Tubman's 1913 funeral, she told the crowd that it's not every day you get to open a national historical park.

Saturday was one of those days.

Wilson, superintendent of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, was joined by local leaders and Tubman descendants to celebrate the opening of the Parker Street church and parsonage to visitors. The National Park Service, which acquired the property in 2016, recently completed a $5 million project to rehabilitate the historic structures.

Tubman contributed $500 to support the construction of the church in 1891. She worshipped there until her death in 1913. Her funeral was held at the church, not far from her final resting place at Fort Hill Cemetery.

But after the AME Zion Church relocated in 1993, the church and neighboring parsonage were vacant for more than two decades.

The National Park Service, which purchased the property when former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell formally established the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in 2017, awarded a contract for the projectin 2022. The agency and National Park Foundation spent $3 million to restore the church to how it looked at the time of Tubman's funeral. Another $1.9 million was spent to rehabilitate the parsonage.

The project included the installation of a new 12-foot steeple and considerable exterior work. Inside the church, crews restored the floor and replicated historic stenciling found on the walls.

Several Tubman descendants attended the opening ceremony. Judith Bryant, one of Tubman's great-great-grandnieces, was among those whose families worshipped at Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church. She was bapitzed in the church.

"None of our ancestors ever dreamed that one day national parks in two different states would commemorate the life and heroic achievements of (Tubman), which began with a burning desire to rescue her parents and her siblings away from bondage," Bryant said.

The church and parsonage, which will serve as a visitor center for the Parker Street sites, join Tubman's former property on South Street as part of the national park. The site is owned by Harriet Tubman Home, Inc., and includes Tubman's former brick residence and Home for the Aged.

Karen Hill, president and CEO of the Harriet Tubman Home, described the arrangement as a "true partnership" with the National Park Service. The entities are working on a long-term agreement to jointly manage the South Street site.

The reopening of the church and parsonage, though, excites Hill.

"Bringing this sanctuary back and the parsonage back is so important," she said.

Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino, who was one of the guest speakers at the opening ceremony, hailed it as "a remarkable day for our city, our country and more importantly, for Harriet Tubman."

Tubman, who was born into slavery in Maryland, moved to Auburn in 1859. The city is recognized as her chosen hometown.

"I believe Harriet saw promise in Auburn," Giannettino said. "Today, we get to return that promise to her."

The church is expected to draw 3,000 visitors annually. For now, it will be open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Operating hours could be adjusted in the future.

It's the latest milestone in the years-long push to achieve national park status for the Tubman sites in Auburn. Congress passed the parks legislation, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, in 2014. Former President Barack Obama signed it into law.

Nearly 10 years later, with the opening of the church and parsonage, it ensures the National Park Service will have a local presence.

"It's not every day you get to open a new place to honor such an amazing woman and to talk about the stories of her legacy here in Auburn, as well as the story of the legacy of the community that she supported here in Auburn," Wilson said.