Harriet Tubman museum closes after thieves break in, steal donation box

The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center on Maryland’s Eastern Shore recently celebrated its grand reopening in June.

Photo of the damaged door. Source: Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center on Facebook.

The Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center on Maryland’s Eastern Shore was forced to close its doors after thieves broke in over the weekend and stole its donation box.

The tiny community museum, located in the county where the famed abolitionist was born into slavery, reported damage to its back door and the famous “Take My Hand” mural of Tubman painted by the artist Michael Rosato.

“The weekend of July 11, we were the unfortunate victims of vandalism. Our back door was broken and our donation box was stolen,” the museum announced. “We will be closed until further notice as we [assess] the damage and work to repair it. We would greatly appreciate any donations to make up for what was lost and remedy the [effects] of this disheartening crime.”

It’s unclear how much was in the donation box when it was stolen. Visitors are asked to donate because admission to the volunteer-run museum is free. Authorities believe the culprit may have been someone who had visited the center before.

The robbery is another setback for the beloved museum, which only recently reopened its doors after disastrous flooding last year forced it to close. The museum recently held a grand reopening in June.

“We weren’t planning for this,” Linda Harris, director of events and programming for the museum, told WBOC-TV. “We just raised money to redo our museum. Now we’ve got to raise more money. So, I’m very sad. This place has been here since 1992. It’s an institution. It conveys the story of a person born here in Cambridge. And for someone to vandalize it, it’s pretty sad.”

It will cost thousands of dollars to replace the museum’s back door and fix the damage to the mural. The museum is accepting donations on its website.