A famous Auburn resident could soon be honored with a statue in the nation’s capital.
As part of her State of the State agenda, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she intends to work with the legislature to pass a resolution to design, construct, and transport a statue of Harriet Tubman for inclusion in the US Capitol’s National Statuary Hall. It’s hoped that adding the statue of the famed abolitionist will “bring greater recognition to women’s contributions to history and align with broader movements for equal representation,” according to the State of the State book.
Each state can contribute two statues to the statuary hall and is allowed to replace them.
Currently, the Empire State’s contributions to the hall are statues of George Clinton and Robert Livingston. Clinton served in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. He also served as New York’s first governor and the fourth vice president of the United States under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Livingston was a founding father who helped draft the Declaration of Independence.
Ten years after escaping slavery in Maryland, Tubman moved to Cayuga County, purchasing land from the Seward Family. She was a conductor on the Underground Railroad and served as a scout and spy during the Civil War. Following the war, she would return to the Auburn area, promoting women’s suffrage in the later years of her life.
Tubman died in 1913 and was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery following a funeral at the Thompson AME Zion Church which is now part of the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park.
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