Josiah Henson Museum and Park

Josiah Henson Museum and Park

Josiah Henson Museum and Park is the former plantation property of Isaac Riley where Reverend Josiah Henson was enslaved. This park is a historic resource of local, state, national and international significance because of its association with Reverend Henson, whose 1849 autobiography, The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s landmark novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

The Park contains the historic Riley/Bolten House (1800-1815) and its attached log kitchen (1850-51).

Ongoing archaeological excavations seek to find where Josiah Henson may have lived on the site.

The Josiah Henson Museum and Park is part of the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.