Request for Bids For Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Guide Book

The Dorchester County Tourism Department is accepting proposals from artists for the reprinting and delivery of our Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Driving Tour Guide and insert map. Sealed bids must be received by Thursday, May 16, 2013 @ 2:00 PM.

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Handsell Plantation House

An eighteenth century plantation house known as Handsell, located on Indiantown Road just north of historic Vienna, will become the new headquarters of the Nanticoke Historic Preservation Alliance, Inc. (NHPA). Handsell stands on the site of the Native American Chicone village, later a trading post and Indian Reservation, which was likely visited by Captain John Smith during his exploration of the Chesapeake and its tributaries.

It is believed that the existing dwelling house was built in the mid 1700's by the Henry Steele family, one of Maryland's most prominent early legislative families. Handsell was the home of many African American slaves whose descendents still inhabit the area. The house suffered a devastating fire in the early 1800's and was rebuilt to its current form, although it has been vacant and left in a serious state of disrepair for decades.

NHPA intends to purchase, study and accurately restore the brick house and make it available for public tours and special educational events in celebration of the Native American, colonial American and African American connections to the area and the Handsell plantation. Handsell can be the educational centerpiece for historic and environmental study of the entire Nanticoke River area by providing a meeting and exhibit place, while at the same time, serving the economic and development needs of the County and region as a magnet for historic tourism. Further up-to-date information can be found at: www.restorehandsell.org