New outdoor exhibit traces 200 years of history in one Cincinnati block

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 1, 2021
Media Contact:  Christina Hartlieb
513-751-0651
[email protected]

(CINCINNATI, OH)– The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is pleased to announce the opening of a brand-new experience for visitors to the historic site in Walnut Hills. “Our Neighborhood Story: A Tour of this Walnut Hills Block,” developed in partnership with Ohio Humanities and the Walnut Hills Historical Society, traces 200 years of the history in one Cincinnati block. This entirely outdoor exhibit is free and open to the public during daylight hours at the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe House, 2950 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45206.

Seven panels on the ground of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House (and one panel a few blocks down on Beecher Street at the Walnut Hills Community Garden) explain the significance of the site and the ways that women and men from Walnut Hills developed and sustained the diverse and dynamic neighborhood over the past two centuries.

Double-sided outdoor panels feature photographs and illustrations from the neighborhood’s formation in the 1830s around Lane Seminary, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, to a 20th century thriving middle-class neighborhood full of Black-owned businesses, to recent changes brought about by the expansion of MLK Drive and the highway 71 interchange. Visitors are encouraged to think about how people in this neighborhood have use their voices to affect change both locally and around the world how they can use the power of their own voices today.

While the Our Neighborhood Story exhibition on the grounds of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House is free, there is a modest fee of $6 for adults/$5 for seniors/$3 for children to tour the house, which holds detailed exhibits explaining how author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe's young adult years in Cincinnati led to the landmark publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  For more information on the exhibit or to plan your trip, 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.

The outdoor exhibit "Our Neighborhood Story" debuted during the annual Harriet's Birthday Party community celebration June 13, 2021.

Each panel includes photographs, illustrations, and summaries of influential events and people in this Walnut Hills block.

Seven exhibit panels are on the grounds of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House at Gilbert & MLK Ave. The eighth panel is at the Beecher Street Community Garden, a few blocks away.

View advertisements from the beer garden that used to occupy this land over 100 years ago.

One of the stories featured includes James Bradley, a student at the Lane Seminary in the 1830s who had purchased his freedom from enslavement before enrolling at the seminary and testified during the controversial Lane Seminary Debates.

Visitors of all ages can learn about history right under their feet--for free!