Montgomery County, Maryland has agreed to purchase the one-acre historic site and former home of Josiah Henson, a slave that served as Harriet Beecher Stowe's model for her novel on slavery, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The heirs of Marcel and Hildegarde Mallet-Prevost who owned the property since the 1960s and County officials hope to settle on the property and hold a deed transfer ceremony on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, on Monday, January 16, 2006.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is located at 11420 Old Georgetown Road in Rockville, Maryland. It was originally a tobacco plantation, including an 18th century mainhouse with log kitchen wing. Montgomery County will pay $1 million for the property and it will become part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's 32,639-acre park system. The property will be restored and made accessible to the public.
About Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson, a slave who lived and worked on the property for more than 30 years, escaped to freedom in Canada in 1830, where he published his autobiography "The Life of Josiah Henson" in 1849. Harriet Beecher Stow based her 1852 novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" on his writings. Henson became prominent in the abolitionist movement and traveled in the United States and England to tell his life story. He lived to the age of 94 and is buried near his home in Dresden, Ontario, which has been preserved as a Canadian historic site.Buy the book or audio tape of Uncle Tom's Cabin
