Harriet Beecher Stowe Center Executive Director Katherine Kane announced on Tuesday, March 12th, that Stowe’s Hartford, Connecticut, home is now designated as a National Historic Landmark.
Kane noted, “This honor from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service recognizes and celebrates Stowe’s impact on America. Her most famous work, the best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War, and was fueled by her passion for justice and empathy for those enslaved. We appreciate the support of Connecticut’s federal delegation, Governor Malloy and the CT State Historic Preservation Office. We are grateful for the testimony of the offices of Congressman Larson,
Senator Blumenthal and former Senator Lieberman. ”
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) published more than 30 books, but it was Uncle Tom’s Cabinthat catapulted her to international celebrity and secured her place in history. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House at 77 Forest Street was home to Stowe and her family from 1873 to 1896. Stowe’s presence in Hartford drew others to live in what was then the nations’ preeminent literary community. Today the Stowe Center draws visitors from all over the world to Connecticut to walk in the footsteps of the woman whose words changed the world.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1963. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1973, the Stowe Center is a member of the American Association of State and Local History, a Charter Circle Member of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, and the National Collaborative of Women’s History Sites; it is also on the National Underground Railroad Freedom Trail, Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail, Connecticut Freedom Trail, and a member of Connecticut’s Historic Gardens.
The other sites designated at the same time were:
- Camden Amphitheatre and Public Library, Camden, ME
- Camp Nelson Historic and Archeological District, Jessamine County, KY
- Casa Dra. Concha Meléndez Ramírez, San Juan, PR
- Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL
- The Epic of American Civilization Murals, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
- George T. Stagg Distillery, Franklin County, KY
- Hinchliffe Stadium, Paterson, NJ
- Honey Springs Battlefield, McIntosh and Muskogee Counties, OK
- Old San Juan Historic District/Distrito Histórico del Viejo San Juan, San Juan, PR
- Pear Valley, Eastville, VA
- Second Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL
- Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY