Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross in the early 1820s[1][2][3] on the plantation of Anthony Thompson near the village of Madison in Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

A year or two after she was born, Edward Brodess claimed Tubman, her mother, and her four siblings as an inheritance and took them away to his farm near Bucktown, about 10 miles (16 km) to the east.

Over roughly the next decade, Tubman gained national fame by returning to Maryland repeatedly to lead her siblings and other slaves to freedom via what is now called the Underground Railroad.

[4] The entire area remained in private hands until 1933, when the 28,000-acre (110 km2) Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established.

The park boundaries are essentially the same as the national monument's, and protect nearly all the important sites associated with Tubman's life.

The onset of the Great Recession significantly hurt both state and federal budgets, stalling any move toward construction of the park.

[10] The buildings were located on the site and oriented to face north, the direction in which Tubman led slaves to freedom.

Zinc was chosen because it is a self-healing material which the architects felt reflected the healing which has gone on since the American Civil War.

Building materials included stone and reclaimed wood, and the architectural style featured exposed beams and timbers.

The buildings were designed to have windows which featured views of the surrounding wildlife refuge, little of which had changed since Tubman's day.

The buildings feature geothermal heating and cooling, green roofs, permeable paving in parking areas and on pathways, and solar-powered external lighting.

The west wall of the northernmost building consists of 18 windows of varying shape, each with a different stained glass design depicting a different season of the year.

[13] The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center also features a memorial garden, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) of walking paths through the local landscape, and a 2,700-square-foot (250 m2) outdoor pavilion.