CAMBRIDGE, Md. – Only about a month after the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center reopened following flood repairs, the museum is now dealing with the aftermath of a weekend break-in.
Museum staff say the back door needs to be replaced after it was smashed sometime over the weekend. The door was part of a mural inside the back room of the museum, so along with the door and frame, that section of the mural will need to be redone as well.
Police say the person or persons responsible appeared to know the layout of the building, including where the donation box was kept.
"They knew exactly where the money was," said Cambridge Police Capt. Antoine Patton. "We believe this was an opportunist who had been inside the museum before. It appeared that they broke into the rear door and walked right in and walked directly to the money and took the money container and walked out. Nothing else inside the museum was disturbed and bothered."
Staff estimate the donation box had around $300 in it — a significant loss for a museum that runs entirely on donations and charges no admission fee.
"We weren't planning for this," said Linda Harris, director of events and programming for the museum. "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."
Harris estimates the museum will need to spend between $10,000 and $20,000 to not only replace the door, but purchase and install new security measures, including lighting and cameras.
Staff say the museum has never faced an incident like this before.
"I feel as if someone close to me has come in and violated not only her, but also me as a person whose second home is right here in this museum," said William Jarmon, president of the Harriet Tubman Organization.
The museum's new security cameras were not yet turned on at the time of the break-in, part of an ongoing transition since the flood damage. Capt. Patton said the lack of working cameras has made the investigation more difficult.
"It makes it hard when there are no security cameras there because you don't have anything to go by," Patton said. "So we'll have to go by surrounding areas to see if there were any cameras, if anybody was walking around looking suspicious or anything of that nature."
Harris estimates repairs should take around two weeks.
Museum staff are asking for donations to help support the reopening. Anyone who wants to donate can visit the museum's website.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Cambridge Police at (410) 228-3333. Police are especially asking if anyone saw someone carrying a large amount of cash, or walking in front of the museum between Friday and Sunday evening.
