City: Hartford, CT

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (860) 522-9258

Address: 77 Forest St.

Description: This Gothic cottage at the west end of Hartford was the residence of Harriet Beecher Stowe after she wrote one of the most popular and certainly one of the most influential books of the 19th century, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. When Abraham Lincoln met Stowe, he said, “So, you’re the little woman whose book started this great war.” He was only exaggerating slightly. Inside the house you’ll find an impressive collection of memorabilia and original furnishings. The Stowe House was at the center of Nook Farm, a large community of buildings that housed some of Hartford’s most important figures, including international celebrity Mark Twain. A number of other authors and suffragists lived here as well, and you’ll learn all about their triumphs and struggles at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. When asked about her part in the struggle for equality, Stowe said, “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.” We should all take a page from her book.