Leverton House - Quaker Shelter at Preston

A stop on Harriet Tubman, a free self-guided tour.

You have crossed into Caroline County. This farmhouse on Seaman Road belonged to Jacob and Hannah Leverton, white Quakers who were among the earliest known Underground Railroad agents in this part of Maryland. It is privately owned; view it from the road only.

In the mid-1840s a young enslaved woman, bloodied and desperate, reached this farm. The Levertons cleaned her wounds, fed her and gave her clean clothes, and that night Jacob was seen driving north with a passenger. When her enslaver came asking, Jacob admitted he had helped her and let her pass on. He was sued and heavily fined, and he died not long after. Hannah is believed to have carried on the work.

Tubman later told of a white woman who gave her the names of people to go to when she fled in 1849. Some have wondered whether it was Hannah Leverton, but no record says so. Remember too that free Black neighbors, among them millwright Daniel Hubbard, sheltered freedom seekers around Preston as well.

Getting here: Head north to U.S. 50 near Cambridge, then follow Route 16 east through East New Market toward Preston, about 30 miles in all, and follow the byway signs to 3531 Seaman Road.

Did you know?: A short drive away on Marsh Creek Road, local Quakers sold land to free Black residents who founded Mount Pleasant Methodist Episcopal Church there in 1849; its cemetery is still in use.

Photo op: From the road shoulder only, frame the farmhouse among its fields; do not use the driveway.

Nearby: Gas and basic groceries in Preston, a few minutes away.

More on Wikipedia: Preston, Maryland · Quakers · Underground Railroad

Leverton House - Quaker Shelter at Preston

Stops on this tour