The Pearl S. Buck House, formerly known as Green Hills Farm, is the 67-

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

homestead in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where Nobel-prize-winning American author Pearl Buck lived for 40 years, raising her family, writing, pursuing

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

interests, and

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

. She purchased the house in 1933 and lived there until the late 1960s, when she moved to Danby, Vermont.Green Hill Farm (Pearl S. Buck House)
National Park Service She completed many works while on the farm, including ''This Proud Heart'' (1938), ''The Patriot'' (1939), ''Today and Forever'' (1941), and ''The Child Who Never Grew'' (1950). The farm, a National Historic Landmark, is located on Dublin Road southwest of

Dublin, Pennsylvania Dublin is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,158 at the 2010 census. Dublin is part of Pennridge School District. Geography Dublin is located at (40.373270, -75.202464). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough ...

. It is now a museum open to the public.

Overview

The Pearl S. Buck House at Green Hills Farm, an example of 19th century (built 1825Preservation/Restoration of the Pearl S. Buck House National Historic Landmark

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

) Pennsylvanian architecture, is constructed of coursed

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

. It is four bays wide and two deep with the main entrance located in the second bay. Two gable

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

s are located on the front and rear slope of the roof.

Chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...

s are located on each gable end. When Buck purchased the farmstead, she made extensive alterations and additions to the 19th century

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate ch ...

, including a two-story fieldstone wing added to the east gable and two libraries. Today, visitors can tour twelve rooms of the home and visit the pre- Revolutionary War

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

on the property and the barn built in 1827. In the large library, two Pennsylvania jugs serve as lamp bases upon a hand carved Chinese hardwood desk, at which Buck wrote her breakthrough novel '' The Good Earth''. Buck filled her home with works of original art by Chen Chi and Freeman Elliot , iron works of art produced by

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d artisans in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Peking Fetti carpets that survived revolutions in China, and some of her own sculptures. Green Hills longwise BucksCo PA.jpg, House Green Hills barn BucksCo PA.jpg, Barn

Museum and Tours

The Pearl Buck house is open to the public for daily tours seven days a week. Pearl S. Buck International currently offers two house tours to visitors: Pearl S. Buck: Taking Action, which focuses on Ms. Buck's activism and human rights advocacy, and the more traditional biographical and historic Pearl S. Buck: Life and Legacy Tour. In May 2020, Pearl S. Buck International's project of developing and implementing the Taking Action tour was named a 2020 recipient of th
Award of Excellence
by th
American Association for State and Local History (AASLH).

Accreditation

In October 2021, the Accreditation Commission of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, awarded the Pearl S. Buck House accreditation. Of the nation's estimated 33,000 museums, 1,095 are currently accredited.

National Historic Landmark Designation

The Pearl S. Buck House was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1980 and opened as a museum the same year. Of 90,000 places listed on the country's National Register of Historic Places, approximately 2,500 are recognized as National Historic Landmarks. As of 2018, there were only 300 National Historic Landmarks dedicated to upholding the legacy of a woman. Of that number, the Pearl S. Buck House is one of only 10 with an intact collection. Approximately 17,000 people visit each year. It sits on over 67 acres of lawns, gardens and ponds.

Pearl S. Buck International

Pearl S. Buck International
is the organization that owns and operates the Pearl S. Buck House National Historic Landmark. Pearl S. Buck International is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization founded by writer, activist and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck. Pearl S. Buck International carries on Ms. Buck's legacy through

intercultural education Cultural competence, also known as intercultural competence, is a range of cognitive, affective, and behavioural skills that lead to effective and appropriate communication with people of other cultures.Deardorff, D. K. (2009). ''The Sage handbook ...

, the Pearl Buck House museum and tours, and

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...

Notes

References

* * {{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1933 Museums in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania Buck, Pearl Literary museums in the United States Women's museums in the United States Houses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Pearl S. Buck