The Harriet Beecher Stowe Centre

Also in Hartford I had a chance to check out the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. If the name sounds familiar it is because she is the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin which is pretty close to being the most important book every written. Some people like to think that it started the Civil War. Upon meeting her, Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying “so you’re the little women who wrote the book that started this Great War”. Of course this is all just legend. When the book was published in 1852, it was only out sold by the bible. It was an instant world wide success.

“I wrote what I did because as a woman, as a mother, I was oppressed and broken-hearted with the sorrows and injustice I saw, because as a Christian, I felt the dishonour to Christianity, because a lover of my country, I trembled at the coming day of wrath.”

The house itself is a beautifully restored Victorian Gothic home. Many of the items in the home are original and belonged to the Beecher Stowe family. Although mostly remembered for Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet wrote over thirty novels, was an accomplished artist and also published a series of homemaker magazines; with helpful hints for women on how to keep their homes running smoothly (think Martha Stewart).

One story I found very interesting was the story about her twin daughters. The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is not the house she lived in when she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin but the last house she lived in. Her twin daughters were in their early 30’s when they moved here and lived with their mother until her death. They never married, they never had any kids and they shared a bedroom until they were in their 60’s. Basically, back then women got married out of necessity. They were not allowed to own land or anything like that so relied heavily on men (husbands) to financially support them (wow how things have changed). In their case though, Eliza and Harriet (the twins) had a very cushy life with their parents and were supported very well. Basically they were socialites. They attended parties, went shopping, took trips to Europe and things like that.

Their story kind of reminded me of a couple of other sisters we all know (well if you follow the tabloids at all).

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House sits right next door to the Mark Twain House, which I didn’t get to visit this time around but maybe next time.

Julie