What Is the Harriet Beecher Stowe House?
This Victorian Gothic home was the final residence of literary giant, Harriet Beecher Stowe!
What Makes It Historical?
From the very beginning, the children of Lyman and Roxanna Beecher had niches to fill! Their seven sons became ministers, while the oldest daughter, Catharine, founded the Hartford Female Seminary. For young Harriet, there was just one path: writing! Growing up in a spirited, abolition-minded family, she won her first essay contest at the age of seven and went to her sister’s school as a student then a teacher to hone the skills that would make her famous!
From there began a long odyssey out of Connecticut, first to Cincinnati in 1832, where she met her husband, Professor Calvin Stowe, then to Brunswick, Maine in 1850. It was there, at the age of 50, that Mrs. Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly in 40 chapters for The National Era. This work, which made her career, is the odyssey of two enslaved folks, Uncle Tom and Eliza. The former is sold again and again to his death, while the latter escape with her son to freedom, after many trials! The reaction was immense! Arguably the first bestseller, it eclipsed all other books sold in the whole 19th Century, except for the Bible! Because it was so widely read, it shaped a lot of views about slavery, some of which contributed to the Civil War, some of which, especially in stage productions, contributed to long-lasting stereotypes about Black folks!
Now financially secure, with her foot firmly in the Hall of Fame’s door, Mrs. Stowe completed her career with 30 books and hundreds of short stories, poems, articles, and hymns! When Mr. Stowe retired, the family returned to Hartford, settling first in their dream home, then being forced to move here in 1873 because their area was industrializing. Here, neighboring the Clemens family home, she published her final work, Poganuc People, before the dementia crept in. In her final years, she’d creep into neighbors’ homes and spook them, and she began rewriting Uncle Tom’s Cabin, from scratch, word for word! When she died at 85, she left behind a massive legacy that inspired future protest novels like Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
- Become a member of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center!
- Donate to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
77 Forest St
Hartford, CT 06105
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, Fridays from 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM, and Saturdays from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM!