John Muir's Birthplace, in

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, is a museum run by East Lothian Council Museums Service as a centre for study and interpretation of the work of the Scottish-American conservationist

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...

History

John Muir, the

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and preservationist, was born in the house at 126 High Street on 21 April 1838, the third child of Daniel Muir and his second wife Ann Gilrye Muir. The house is described as a "three storey stone building" in "the best business district of the town." His father operated a successful grain and food store in the building as well, a business which he had inherited when his first wife died. The family emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1849, and Muir revisited Dunbar only once thereafter (in 1893), but kept in contact with relatives until his death in 1914. His connections with Dunbar were forgotten until the 1960s, when American enthusiasts began to turn up in Dunbar seeking information about their hero's roots. A small museum was created in the upper flat of the redeveloped and restored building under a private/public partnership in 1980, opening the following year. The museum has come under the ambit of a number of organisations. It was originally proposed to operate with a team of volunteer attendants, but operational matters were shortly assumed by East Lothian Tourist Board and continued until 1996. It then became the responsibility of East Lothian Council Museums Service, who now operate it for the present owner, the John Muir Birthplace Trust. The trust is a Scottish

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

, formed in 1998 as a collaboration between East Lothian Council, the John Muir Trust, Dunbar's John Muir Association (relaunched in 2008 as the Friends of John Muir's Birthplace), and Dunbar Community Council, to preserve John Muir's birthplace and to turn it into a centre for study and interpretation of his work. The project started in 2002, and the centre opened to the public in August 2003. On 8 February 2012, the arrival of the 100,000th visitor was marked by a special presentation.

Remembering John Muir

The John Muir Trust is a

which aims to protect wild land and

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

and administers the John Muir Award scheme. The John Muir Way is a long distance footpath from

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

. There is an older known footpath named John Muir Way from

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

to Dunglass through East Lothian The John Muir Country Park is situated in the Dunbar area. In Martinez,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

is the John Muir National Historic Site, consisting mainly of John Muir's home, plus a portion of his orchards. There is also the John Muir Memorial site not far from the Historic Site that is composed of a statue of John Muir on a rock surrounded by trees. John Muir Day is celebrated every year on 21 April in

. John Muir College at University of California - San Diego.

References

External links

Official Website of John Muir's BirthplaceEast Lothian Council websiteWebsite of the Friends of John Muir's BirthplaceWebsite of the John Muir TrustWebsite of the Sierra Club
{{Coord, 56.002896, -2.516871, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Museums in East Lothian Biographical museums in Scotland Historic house museums in East Lothian Birthplace Muir, John 1981 establishments in Scotland Dunbar