Inside this renovated parsonage at 632 Lafayette Street, you will find the Harriet Tubman Museum, opened on Juneteenth 2020 to honor her life and work. Inside this renovated parsonage — once the Macedonia Baptist Church Parsonage and a contributing property of the Cape May Historic District — the museum presents the life and work of American abolitionist and social activist Harriet Tubman and specifically refers to Tubman's time living in Cape May. The museum opened virtually on Juneteenth (June 19, 2020) and then physically opened on Thursday, September 17, 2020, an event attended by Governor Phil Murphy, who had approved a bill designating this as the state's official Harriet Tubman Museum.
The formal opening to the public followed on Juneteenth in 2021. In 2024 the museum and the Macedonia Baptist Church were added to the New Jersey Black Heritage Trail. Stand here and feel the layers of history — this house was renovated to hold the museum, and every exhibit ties to Tubman's story and this place.
Notice Lafayette Street stretching out from the Howell House beside you.