Tag Archives: Literary sites

Harriet Beecher Stowe in Brunswick, Maine

Harriet Beecher Stowe houseThere’s a “new kid on the block” – that is, another historic house in Maine open to the public, and a literary site, too. The house where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” can now be visited. Well, at least one of the rooms – “Harriet’s Writing Room” is a public exhibit space commemorating Stowe’s literary legacy. The home is a National Historic Landmark and a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site. Harriet also sheltered a slave in her home, John Andrew Jackson, while living in this house on Federal Street in Brunswick.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House sign

Why was Harriet Beecher Stowe in Brunswick? Her husband Calvin was a professor at Bowdoin College, his alma mater. They lived there only a short time – from 1850 to 1852 – but what a lot Harriet accomplished. Much of her over 500 page book was written there; a book which  which would soon become a classic, and would influence laying the groundwork of the Civil War. All while raising children and running a household (and sheltering slaves).

Harriet Beecher Stowe House interior

For more information: http://bowdoin.edu/stowe-house

American Writers Museum

Longfellow house and garden May 2015I am a big fan of literary sites – of course it helps that my office looks out onto the Longfellow Garden, behind the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of America’s most beloved poets. One of these days I want to travel the country, visiting literary homes and sites, reading and blogging about the literary works as I visit writer’s homes. But perhaps my first stop should be in Chicago at the American Writers Museum, which opens in 2017. The Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Garden is one of the affiliates.

The American Writers Museum Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) organization whose mission is to establish the first national museum in the United States dedicated to engaging the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture and our daily lives.

Check it out! http://americanwritersmuseum.org/