Just off old Georgetown road in Rockville, a historic plantation is about to become a museum. It’s famous for being the place where Josiah Henson, an abolitionist and author who inspired the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” experienced the horrors of slavery. News 4’s Meagan Fitzgerald reports.
A historic plantation is being turned into the Josiah Henson Museum in honor of the abolitionist and author whose life and works inspired the renowned novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
The plantation, once owned by Isaac Reilly, is located in Rockville, Maryland. Josiah Henson grew up experiencing the horrors of slavery at Reilly's plantation before escaping to Canada.
Construction crews are currently in the process of restoring the plantation, located just off Old Georgetown Road.
Once in Canada, Henson became an abolitionist and author, writing an autobiography in 1849.
"He maps it out for us, what it means to be born into enslavement," says Shirl Spicer, the museum manager of Montgomery Parks Foundation.
Spicer said Henson's life and autobiography inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Besides the plantation's restoration, Katie Rictor, executive director of the Montgomery Parks Foundation, said construction is underway to house "a number of exhibits and a theater" to share Henson's story.
