Harriet Tubman lived in several places over her lifetime, but she spent her final and longest period in Auburn, New York, where she lived from 1859 until her death in 1913.

Key places Harriet Tubman lived

  • Dorchester County, Maryland (birthplace and enslavement): Tubman, born Araminta Ross, was born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, on a farm at Peter’s Neck in the early 1820s.
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (early freedom years): After escaping slavery, she initially lived in Philadelphia, which became a base as she made repeated trips south to guide enslaved people to freedom.
  • St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (Underground Railroad period): Tubman and members of her family lived in St. Catharines, Canada, a major refuge for formerly enslaved people; her family moved between St. Catharines and New York depending on safety.
  • Cape May, New Jersey (early 1850s): In the early 1850s, she lived and worked in Cape May, New Jersey, earning money in hotels and households to finance her rescue missions.
  • Fleming and Auburn, New York (later life and legacy): Before the Civil War, she found a safe haven for her family near Auburn, in the village of Fleming, New York, then established a permanent home on South Street in Auburn, where she brought relatives, farmed the land, and became active in abolition, community welfare, and women’s suffrage.

Her home and legacy in Auburn

  • Tubman acquired property in Auburn with the help of abolitionist allies and expanded it with additional buildings for her extended family.
  • In 1903, she transferred 25 acres of this land to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church to create the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, which formally opened in 1908.
  • She entered the Home for the Aged in 1911 and lived there until her death in 1913, making Auburn the place most closely associated with her later life and enduring legacy.

Quick HTML table of main locations

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Location Approximate Period Why it mattered in her life
Dorchester County, Marylandc. 1822 – c. 1849 Birthplace, childhood, and years in slavery.
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaAfter escape (late 1840s–1850s) First home in freedom and base for early rescue journeys.
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada1850s Refuge for her and her family; community of Black freedom seekers.
Cape May, New JerseyEarly 1850s (several seasons) Worked to earn money to fund Underground Railroad missions.
Fleming & Auburn, New YorkFrom 1850s; Auburn 1859–1913 Family home, farm, community activism, and site of the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.