Exterior Work to Begin at Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 20, 2020
Media Contact: Christina Hartlieb
513-751-0651
[email protected]
                                                                                                                                               
(CINCINNATI, OH) – The Harriet Beecher Stowe House and Ohio History Connection are continuing a long-term site restoration and revitalization project at the historic site in Walnut Hills. The next phase of this project is to reveal and restore the original 1840s facade on the north and west sides of the house. This work will include removing the front porch that was added in the 20th century, reopening windows that have been bricked shut, repairing masonry, and repainting in historically-accurate colors uncovered through historical paint analysis. The site will remain OPEN during this project.  

Built in 1832, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House was originally the president’s home on the campus of Lane Theological Seminary. It is the final property remaining from the campus in Walnut Hills. Harriet Beecher Stowe, who moved to Cincinnati with her father at the age of 21, lived in Cincinnati for 18 years and went on to write the influential anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1852. This historic site is located at 2950 Gilbert Avenue in Cincinnati.
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The Beecher family lived in the home from 1832-1851, including Harriet’s older sister Catherine Beecher, a national leader in teacher training for women and younger sister Isabella Beecher who would go on to be influential in the women’s suffrage movement in Connecticut. The house was subsequently occupied by three generations of the Monfort family who made significant additions and renovations to the home. In the 20th century the site served as a long-term boarding house and had a tavern that was listed in the Green Book. The house was purchased in 1943 by the Harriet Beecher Stowe Home Memorial Association and opened to the public as a historic site in 1949. The site’s last major renovation project took place in the 1970s under the leadership of George Wilson and the Citizen’s Committee on Youth.

For nearly a century, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House has been painted white. After inspecting remnants of the original paint and examining them under a microscope, the original color of the home was revealed. This paint analysis determined the color of the home at the time the Beechers occupied it was a very pale yellow with dark green shutters. Exterior on the Harriet Beecher Stowe House is scheduled to begin late–August and will continue into the fall.
 
The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is an Ohio History Connection historic site and is managed locally by the Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House. For more information on the site, visit www.stowehousecincy.org or call 513-751-0651.

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ABOUT HARRIET BEECHER STOWE HOUSE
The nonprofit Friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe House manages a Cincinnati home where Harriet Beecher Stowe lived during the formative years that led her to write the best-selling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This historic site is part of the Ohio History Connection’s network of more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio. For more information about programs and events, call 513-751-0651 or visit www.stowehousecincy.org.
 
Ohio History Connection
The Ohio History Connection, formerly the Ohio Historical Society, is a statewide history organization with the mission to spark discovery of Ohio’s stories. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization chartered in 1885, the Ohio History Connection carries out history services for Ohio and its citizens focused on preserving and sharing the state’s history. This includes housing the state historic preservation office, the official state archives, local history office and managing more than 50 sites and museums across Ohio. For more information on programs and events, visit ohiohistory.org.