International Underground Railroad Month is in September and Montgomery County, Maryland is one special pitstop to explore the history of African American life in the county and how they contributed to the Underground Railroad. We’ve rounded up historic sites and events to create your own itinerary to reflect and learn about the Underground Railroad and how the lives of freedom seekers impacted surrounding communities and society.

Historic Sites

Button Farm Living History Center
Address: 16820 Black Rock Road, Germantown, MD

Button Farm Living History Center is Maryland’s only living history center that depicts 19th-century plantation life and the stories of the Underground Railroad. Explore a variety of tours offered each other chronicling different experiences enslaved people encountered during the 19^th century.

Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
Address: 16501 Norwood Road, Sandy Spring, MD

Go back in time to learn about the Sandy Spring Quaker settlement and Underground Railroad experience at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park.  Take a solo or guided hike on the Underground Railroad Experience Trail, where you can take the journey enslaved freedom seekers took while traveling through Montgomery County, Maryland on their way to safety in the North.

Josiah Henson Museum & Park
Address: 11410 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda, MD

Visit a former plantation property where Josiah Henson was enslaved. Henson was a famous abolitionist, author, and preacher who was also the inspiration for Harriet Beecher’s famous novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. The original home on the property still stands and is accompanied by museum exhibits that tell the story of Josiah Henson’s life including how he escaped to freedom, started a community in Canada, and came back to help others.

Events

Guided Hike on the Underground Railroad Experience Trail
Location: Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
Date: Saturdays in September; 10:00 am to 11:30 am
Cost: $8 per person

Learn about the experience of 19th-century freedom seekers and Montgomery County residents in a guided hike of the Underground Railroad Experience Trail. Discover techniques used for navigation, eluding detection, and finding food/shelter on the perilous journey. The hike covers two miles on a natural surface hike trail. Registration is highly encouraged, there’s limited walk-in availability.

Woodlawn Manor House Tour
Location: Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
Date: Saturdays at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, & Sundays at 1:00 pm
Cost: $5 per person

Find out about the Palmer family that oversaw the farm at Woodlawn Manor for nearly 100 years. Explore the historic home’s first floor and outbuildings. This tour includes interior and exterior spaces including optional areas. There are areas that are not ADA-accessible.

Harriet Tubman Day
Location: Button Farm Living History Center
Date: September 14, 2024; 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Cost: Free

Celebrate the life of Harriet Tubman who emancipated herself from slavery. Not only did she free herself, but she also helped secure the liberation of others, returning a dozen times to Maryland to lead about 70 friends and family members out of bondage. To celebrate Tubman, The Button Farm Almanac Tour offers a hands-on tour including an interactive exploration of this former plantation landscape. The tour provides a sensory experience using 19th-century artifacts, architecture, agriculture, and historical accounts to show the impact they had on surrounding communities and abolitionism.

Drinks on the Veranda
Location: Button Farm Living History Center
Date: September 14, 2024; 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

For ages 21+. Join Button Farm Living History Center for their annual Drinks on the Veranda to toast the end of summer. Sample historical libations and culinary delights on this intoxicating tour of the senses. Relax on the veranda, stroll the garden grounds, enjoy music, and mix and mingle with food and history lovers. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic options are available. Ticket reservations required.

Oakley Cabin African American Museum & Park: Guided Tours and Open House
Location: Oakley Cabin African American Museum & Park
Date: September 14, 2024; 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Cost: Free

Step inside Oakley Cabin, a living history museum, and learn about the African American roadside community that lived and worked on this historic site from emancipation well into the 20^th century. Their cultures and traditions heavily influenced those of surrounding communities. The cabin is open the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday through October.

History Hour: Women of the Underground Railroad: African American Experiences of Maryland
Location: Josiah Henson Museum & Park
Date: September 19, 2024; 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Cost: $5

Listen to speaker Shirl Spicer’s presentation on “Women of the Underground Railroad: African American Experiences of Maryland.” Arrive early and take a self-guided tour of the museum.

Foodie Fridays: Hear the Past: Historical Foodways in Montgomery County
Location: Josiah Henson Museum & Park
Date: September 27, 2024; 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Cost: $15

Join the Montgomery Parks Community Garden Program for their monthly speaker series about highlighting food-related topics and showing how the food system impacts residents of Montgomery County. Listen to historian, author, and explorer of the American past, Tony Cohen, talk about historical foodways with a focus on the Museum Garden at Button Farm Living History Center and the heirloom varieties being grown there.

Find out more about the county’s history at historic sites, take a visit to a museum, or get outdoors to one of the many parks in Montgomery County, Maryland.