The Stowe Center for Literary Activism is a

history museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

at 73 Forest Street in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

that was once the home of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

, author of the 1852 novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

''. Stowe lived in this house for the last 23 years of her life. It was her family's second home in Hartford. The 5,000 sq ft (460 m²) cottage-style house is located adjacent to the Mark Twain House and is open to the public. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1970, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2013.

Description

The Stowe House is a two-story brick building, painted gray, resting on a brick foundation. Although the house is basically rectangular, it has a complex roof, with a jerkin-headed gable running parallel to the street, a hip-roof extension to the rear, and small dormers flanking a central dormer flush to the front facade. The gables are decorated with bargeboard, and the eaves have

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

brackets. The interior of the house follows a fairly conventional center hall plan, with two parlors, dining room, kitchen, and pantry on the first floor, and bedrooms on the second. Though Harriet Beecher Stowe and her family had previously lived in several other homes, Oakholm was the first constructed specifically for them.

History

Harriet Beecher Stowe had been living in Massachusetts with her husband

Calvin Ellis Stowe Calvin Ellis Stowe (April 6, 1802 – August 22, 1886) was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States. Over his career, he was a professor of languages and Biblical and sacred literature at Andover Theol ...

, who taught at the

Andover Theological Seminary Andover Theological Seminary (1807–1965) was a Congregationalist seminary founded in 1807 and originally located in Andover, Massachusetts on the campus of Phillips Academy. From 1908 to 1931, it was located at Harvard University in Cambrid ...

. When Calvin gave his resignation, effective in August 1863, Harriet set to work preparing their first home in Hartford. Fluctuating costs caused by the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

made the project difficult but Harriet enjoyed supervising the work. She wrote to her publisher

James T. Fields James Thomas Fields (December 31, 1817 – April 24, 1881) was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston. Biography Early life and family He was born in ...

, "I go every day to see it—I am busy with drains sewers sinks digging trenching—& above all with manure!—You should see the joy with which I gaze on manure heaps to which the eye of faith sees Delaware grapes & D'Angouleme pears & all sorts of roses & posies".McFarland, Philip. ''Loves of Harriet Beecher Stowe''. New York: Grove Press, 2007: 167. She named the building "Oakholm". The home was complete enough that, by May 1, 1864, she wrote, "I came here a month ago to hurry on the preparations for our house, in which I am now writing, in the high bow-window of Mr. Stowe's study, overlooking the wood and river. We are not moved in yet, only our things, and the house presents a scene of the wildest chaos, the furniture having been tumbled in and lying boxed and promiscuous." By 1873, however, Oakholm became too expensive to maintain, and the Stowes sold the house and moved to this home on Forest Street. The home was originally built by Franklin Chamberlin, who had also sold the adjacent land to

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

upon which the Mark Twain House was built. Stowe remained in the home for the last 23 years of her life. Among the works she published while living here was ''Pogunuc People'' (1878).Danilov, Victor J. ''Famous Americans: A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials''. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013: 61. She maintained an active career; in addition to her writing, she also embarked on two lecture tours while living in the house. She also pushed for support of the local

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionism, Impressionist paintings, Hudson Riv ...

and assisted in establishing the Hartford Art School, now part of the

University of Hartford The University of Hartford (UHart) is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Its main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield. It enrolled approximately 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students as ...

. Stowe died in her upstairs bedroom in the house in 1896 with several of her children, her sister Isabella Beecher Hooker, and other family members at her side.

The Stowe Center for Literary Activism

The Stowe Center for Literary Activism
preserves and interprets Stowe’s Hartford home and the Center’s historic collections, promotes vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspires commitment to social justice and positive change." (Mission Statement of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) Katherinedayhouse

After Harriet Beecher Stowe's death in 1896, the property was sold out of the family. It was reacquired by her grandniece, Katharine Seymour Day, in 1924. Day, who had known the family of Mark Twain as a girl, also acquired the neighboring Mark Twain House and saved it from development in 1929. Day bequeathed her Hartford properties to a foundation dedicated to Stowe's legacy. Now known as the Stowe Center for Literary Activism, officially founded in 1941, this organization carefully restored the property in 1965–68, and now operates it as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

. It was first opened to the public in 1968. The home was added to the

in 1970, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2013. Today, guided tours are offered to the public, and the house includes original family furnishings and memorabilia. Annual visitation is over 25,000.Danilov, Victor J. ''Famous Americans: A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials''. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013: 62. In addition to the Stowe House, the Center manages an 1873 carriage house, which now serves as the visitor's center, and the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884). The Stowe Center preserves the house and center's collections, with a research library that includes letters and documents from the family. The collections include an estimated 6,000 objects and over 200,000 manuscripts, books, photographs, and other materials. The site is part of the Connecticut Women's Heritage Trail.

The Stowe Prize

Stowe Center for Literary Activism annually awards a prize to a U.S. author whose work is deemed to have affected a critical social issue in the tradition of Stowe’s '' Uncle Tom’s Cabin''. Recipients include: *

Nicholas Kristof Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Born in Chicago, Kristof wa ...

and Sheryl WuDunn (2011), for '' Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide''. *

Michelle Alexander Michelle Alexander (born October 7, 1967) is an American writer, attorney, and civil rights activist. She is best known for her 2010 book '' The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness''. Since 2018, she has been an opinion ...

(2013), for '' The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness''. *

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

(2015), for " The Case for Reparations". *

Bryan Stevenson Bryan Stevenson (born November 14, 1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, and law professor at New York University School of Law, and the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based in Montgomery, Alabam ...

(2017), for '' Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption'' * Matthew Desmond (2018), for '' Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City'' * Albert Woodfox (2020), for ''Solitary'' * Clint Smith (2022) for '' How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America''

References

External links