Maryland's Josiah Henson: A Tale of Black Resistance

Summary

Josiah Henson was an escaped enslaved individual and eventual Underground Railroad conductor, yet his life story has been historically overshadowed by the fictional character he inspired in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s internationally renowned novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and Montgomery Parks of southern Maryland utilizes archaeological research as one of many techniques to bring to life the narrative of Josiah Henson the individual, rather than Uncle Tom the fictional character. This paper highlights the integration of archaeological and GIS methods to facilitate the investigation of Henson’s life in Rockville, Maryland and public dissemination of his narrative. As a member of this archaeological project, I created a storymap of the Riley plantation where Henson was enslaved during the early 1800’s. This map introduces potential donors to the site and serves as a virtual self-guided tour for the site’s upcoming museum. As Henson’s influential life story is brought into mainstream understanding and made available to a broader public via technology, we are able to combat the historic belittlement of African-American achievements and contribute to the larger story of Black resistance to slavery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21497