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The Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May is expected to open this summer at the old Howell House on Lafayette Street, NJ.com reports.
The building, which has been vacant for almost four decades, formerly served as the Macedonia Baptist Church parsonage.
The building’s condition later declined to the point where it was added to Preservation New Jersey’s list of the 10 most endangered historic properties in 2012.
In addition to fighting for abolition and becoming a Civil War heroine, Harriet Tubman spent the summers between 1850 and 1852 in Cape May. She worked as a cook and took other odd jobs to raise funds for escaped slaves to successfully transfer north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Extra funding for the museum comes from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Cape May County and numerous community donors.
The Harriet Tubman Museum’s founding trustees are leasing the building from the church, which is still considered the legal owner.
The museum has set an opening day of June 19 - the day Texas officially abolished slavery.
Click here to learn more about the Harriet Tubman Museum.
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