AUBURN - The Harriet Tubman Home took one step closer to becoming a National Historic Park Wednesday as a representative from the National Park Service sketched out a scenario in which millions of dollars in federal money would be made available to pay for staff and improvements at the site on South Street.

But designating the 32-acre Tubman home and grounds a national park, along with property in Maryland where Tubman was born and worked as a slave, still needs Congressional approval. Legislation, supported by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer and U.S. Rep. Michael Arcuri, could be considered next year, said Bob McIntosh of the NPS, who gave the presentation.

The legislation includes the Tubman site, the Thompson AME Zion Church on Parker Street, the Tubman gravesite at Fort Hill Cemetery and the Seward House on South Street. The Tubman Home would be the first National Historic Park named for an African-American woman.

About 40 people, including seven Tubman descendants, attended a public hearing at the Tubman visitor's center Wednesday evening, part of the public comment period that ends Dec. 19 and is required as part of the process. No members of Auburn City Council or the Cayuga County Legislature attended.

A November report by the NPS outlines three alternatives, including taking no action. Under another alternative, the Auburn site would become an affiliated area, with limited technical and financial assistance from the NPS.

A third alternative, the one supported by most who attended the public hearing, is making the site a National Historic Park. That would mean the federal government would provide a staff of five to seven, an annual maintenance contribution of $100,000 and one-to-one matching grants of up to $7.2 million for capital improvements and exhibits.

Representatives of the AME Zion Church, which owns the site and has managed it since it opened in 1952, are excitedly pushing for the historical park designation.

“When people see that symbol of the National Park Service, they have a good feeling that they're going to have a good tour,” said the Rev. Paul G. Carter, who manages the site with his wife, Christine. “It adds some credibility to the site.”

He said the NPS involvement would free him to do more to promote Tubman's life and work, such as giving presentations in schools. The church would retain ownership of the site, which Tubman deeded to it in 1903.

Tubman, who died in 1913, led the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to the north. She settled in Auburn in 1857.

“It's so long overdue,” said Karen Hill, president and chief executive officer of the Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. “It's a win-win situation for everyone.”

The designation would bring visitors to the area, likely providing an economic boost for local businesses. It would also help attendance at other historic sites, such as the Seward House.

“It will bring more people here, especially people who are interested in history,” said Tina Orcutt, superintendent of the Women's Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls. “The anti-slavery and women's rights movements are so interconnected, you can't separate them.”

Tubman descendants are especially hopeful about a historic park designation.

“The support that the Tubman home will get is going to give it visitation perpetually. We've always wanted it to be a viable place,” said Duane Johnson, a great-great nephew. “My family is overjoyed. It's been a long time coming.”