One of the world’s most anticipated museums is opening right here in N.J. – NJ.com

One of the most anticipated museums in the world at least according to Smithsonian Magazine is moving closer to opening its doors this summer. And it's right here in New Jersey.

The Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May will honor the abolitionist and Civil War heroine who spent a summer in Cape May in the early 1850s to raise funds for her efforts to transfer slaves from the South up north above the Mason-Dixon line.

Tubman spent her summers in Philadelphia and Cape May from 1850 to 1852 working as a cook and other jobs to raise money for herself and trips to help slaves escape.

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee pose for a picture in front of the museum, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

The museum will be at the site of the old Howell House, an older building on Lafayette Street that served as the parsonage for Macedonia Baptist Church.

For nearly 40 years, the building remained vacant and its condition deteriorated over time so much so that Preservation New Jersey added the Howell House to the Ten most endangered historic properties list in 2012.

The founding trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum signed a lease to rent the structure from the church, which is still active and owns the building.

Lynda Towns, a Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Macedonia Baptist Church liaison, told NJ Advance Media the museum would have a unique, small-town characteristic to it when it opens on June 19.

"It is very important for us to not only be able to have a museum, but have a place where others can come in and remember what the African American community in Cape May used to be and then also be able to learn about Harriet Tubman and Africa," Towns said. "It will ensure that our presence remains here and is memorialized. It is very important that it stays."

Returning the building back to a recognizable condition, including restoring the initial structure that dates to pre-1800 and building an addition for the museum, has required some help. The construction of the museum is being led by Zack Mullock, who serves as a museum trustee and its construction manager.

Volunteers, contractors and subcontractors have also been working at cost and offering their services for free.

Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison talks about the museum while standing in the Grand Gallery, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Towns has seen the former Howell House in different variations. She used to visit the house when Rev. Robert Davis was presiding over the Macedonia Baptist. Davis married several couples inside the parlor of the room. In another room, which will house the exhibit about Africa, Towns remembers spending a lot of time while listening to the pastor.

"We were in and out of this house a lot, and I babysat here because he had two sons," Towns said. "The room that will be our African room is where he often taught African American history classes to the kids in the community. He would have his African figures and teach us about African American history. It was very meaningful."

Construction inside of the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The museum will house an early edition of a signed copy of abolitionist William Still's "The Underground Railroad." The book, first published in 1872, chronicles Cape May's efforts to help slaves escape to the north. Some of the other items to be that will be on display include artifacts from the slavery period, Davis's collection, newspapers, and abolitionist papers. The museum will also chronicle the role African-Americans played in the city in the 1920s through the present day.

While the museum has been getting financial assistance from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and Cape May County, the surrounding community has helped bring the project to fruition.

Harriet Tubman Museum Executive Director Cynthia Mullock said volunteers have contributed to the museum, from Swains Hardware Inc., to Boy Scout Troop 73, who helped with the painting. Even a restaurateur from North Jersey wanted to assist with fundraising efforts.

The efforts of the Harriet Tubman Museum team were recognized by Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, fifth from left, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

"Yanick Ranieri from Papillon 25, who loves Cape May, contacted us and said she wanted to do a fundraiser," Mullock said. "There will be a gala event, and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the project."

The museum is targeting to open on June 19, or Juneteenth, the day that Texas abolished slavery, making it the last state to do so. The anticipated opening has not gone unnoticed. Smithsonian Magazine recently named the museum as one of the ten most anticipated museums opening worldwide in 2020. There have also been many groups and organizations that have expressed interest in visiting the locale.

"We have had so much interest from teachers who would like to bus students to the museum," Mullock said. "We have a biking community that wrote to us checking if we would be opening June 19 because they want to organize a 200-mile bike ride to the museum on the weekend of the opening."

People who would like to make a donation to the museum can do so by visiting http://www.harriettubmanmuseum.org

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Bob Mullock, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum, and Laurence Hogan, right, of the Macedonia Baptist Church, talk with Carolyn King Davis after meeting with Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020.

Trustees of the Harriet Tubman Museum and Members of the Macedonia Baptist Church Committee are recognized by Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton, fourth from right, for their efforts, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Construction continues on the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cape May, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Zack Mullock, construction manager, left, and Lynda Towns, Trustee of the Harriet Tubman Museum & Macedonia Baptist Church Liaison, talk about the construction of the museum, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. The Harriet Tubman Museum is located in Cape May. (Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

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One of the world's most anticipated museums is opening right here in N.J. - NJ.com