Harriet Beecher Stowe House: Where Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written
Visiting the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Brunswick, Maine, is an incredible way to step back through a rich and wonderful literary history. It was here pen and paper turned into an American literary classic that millions would read.
Today, the home on 63 Federal Street is owned by Bowdoin College and located near campus. A portion of the home, including Harriet’s writing room, is open to the public.
The house was built around 1806-07. Famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once rented a room in the home while a student at Bowdoin. Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband Calvin moved into the home in 1850 after he accepted a professor position at the school.
Harriot and her husband were fervent abolitionists and supported the Underground Railroad, even housing several runaway slaves in the home. One was John Andrew Jackson, who escaped from bondage in South Carolina. Jackson only spent one night with the Stowes at their home in Brunswick, but that night certainly left an impression on everyone.
Jackson reminisced in his 1862 autobiography, The Experience of a Slave in South Carolina: “I met with a very sincere friend and helper, who gave a refuge during the night, and set me on my way. Her name was Mrs. Beecher Stowe. She took me in and fed me, and gave me some clothes and five dollars. She also inspected my back, which is covered with scars which I shall carry with me to the grave. She listened with great interest to my story, and sympathized with me when I told her how long I had been parted from my wife Louisa and my daughter Jenny, and perhaps, forever.”
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Jackson’s stories inspired parts of her famed anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which she wrote during her time in the Brunswick home. Uncle Tom’s Cabin would become one of the best-selling novels of the 19th century and a must-read for generations. Many historians have argued its words helped lead the nation toward the Civil War.
Some evenings, she would invite family and people from the community to listen to readings from the book. One person who attended was Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a Bowdoin student, in 1852. Chamberlain would become a famed general in the Union Army during the Civil War, the Governor of Maine, and President of Bowdoin College. Later, he would recollect his time listening to chapters from Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband moved to Andover, Massachusetts, in 1852. The home changed hands many times until Bowdoin College purchased the property in 2001. In 2015, the College completely renovated the home, returning it to its 1855 appearance. Today, the home celebrates Harriet Beecher Stowe’s legacy and is a National Historic Landmark and a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom site.
The Stowe house is a great stop on your way to Acadia National Park. While in the area, make sure to set aside some time to visit the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum, located in Brunswick. The Colburn House State Historic Site is about 30 miles north near Augusta and is worth a stop, time permitting. Benedict Arnold and Revolutionary War history are featured.
