Tuesday, February 5, 2013
A new visitor's center with a multimedia theater and interactive exhibits are planned to bring to life the story of Rev. Josiah Henson, who inspired the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Montgomery Parks officials last night unveiled schematic designs for a museum at North Bethesda’s Josiah Henson park, the site of a former plantation where the man whose autobiography inspired “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” lived and worked as a slave. Parks officials, architects and designers said they envisioned interactive exhibits where the story of the Rev. Josiah Henson’s life – and the story of slavery in Maryland – would come to life. The plans include a rehabilitation of the historic Riley/Bolten house, which served between 1800 and 1850 as the main farmhouse on the plantation of brothers George and Isaac Riley, a new visitor center on property bordering the historic site to include a multimedia theater, and numerous outdoor exhibits. “Our …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
A community meeting is set to detail plans to mark the former plantation home of Rev. Josiah Henson, whose story inspired "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
The Montgomery County Department of Parks will detail plans Feb. 4 to renovate North Bethesda's Josiah Henson Park, the former plantation where Josiah Henson lived and worked as a slave in the early to mid 1800s. Henson, who eventually escaped slavery, is credited as being the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. A facility plan is underway that would develop a museum at the site with interacive exhibits highlighting Henson's life. The proposed project would rehabilitate the existing historic Riley/Bolten House—which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places—and an attached log kitchen. The Parks Deparment will host a community meeting where residents can view schematic designs for…
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
A dig has uncovered what may be the remains of a structure present when Josiah Henson lived and worked as a slave on the former plantation.
An archaeological dig in North Bethesda has uncovered what may be the remains of a barn or blacksmith workshop tied to Josiah Henson, a former slave who inspired the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” The Baltimore Sun reported. Archaeologists from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the PBS program "Time Team America" have been onsite at the Josiah Henson Special Park this week, once the site of a plantation where Henson lived and worked as a slave. PBS crews are filming the three-day excavation to air in 2013 as part of the “Time Team America” program, which highlights digs across the country. The Josiah Henson site, purchased by Park and Planning in 2006, is in the process of being developed into a public museum. …
Jeff Hawkins
12:45 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Wonderful news. We live in such a rich historical area and there is so much more to be told and exhibited. Looking forward to it.... more ›