An opening day has been picked for the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn.
Park Superintendent Ahna Wilson updated City Council on Thursday about the park’s progress, saying the park would have a limited opening this summer.
“We have a planned opening for Saturday, June 22 of this year,” said Wilson. “This is going to be a community opening. We’re hoping to have a larger celebration next year.”
When the park opens, it will be open on Fridays and Saturdays, something that could change in the future. According to Wilson, this soft opening will allow the service to evaluate capacity and visitation statistics for the larger celebration planned for 2025.
“That will give us a year to understand how we operate, to get our staffing levels up,” said Wilson. “We’ll have a year to prepare.”
As the park is located in a residential area, the park service will need to balance accessibility to the park with the needs of those living nearby.
Roughly 3,000 people made contact with the park in 2022.
The Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church on Parker Street was frequented by Tubman until her death in 1913. Her funeral was held there before her burial in nearby Fort Hill Cemetery.
The church was restored to its 1913 appearance so it could be used for events, exhibits, and ranger talks while the neighboring parsonage was renovated to house offices and a visitors’ center. Approximately $5 million was spent on the work for both buildings.
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