HARRIET BEECHER STOWE CENTER
USING STOWE’S STORY TO INSPIRE ACTION
2012 is the 160th anniversary of the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in book format
and the second year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
The 2012-13 program theme is The Emancipation Proclamation at 150: Still Relevant, Still Revolutionary.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) published more
than 30 books, but it was her best-selling anti-slavery
novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin which catapulted her to
international celebrity and secured her place in history.
Stowe was one person who made a difference. The Stowe
Center’s programs and activities are energized by Stowe’s
example as a clarion call for freedom and justice.
A member of Connecticut’s activist Beecher family, Stowe
gave public voice to her convictions, turned the tide of
public opinion against slavery and became the most
influential American woman of the 19th century.
As a 21st-century museum and program center, the Stowe
Center connects the issues addressed by Stowe to the
contemporary face of those same issues, including race
relations, class and gender issues; economic justice,
educational equity and more.
Stowe’s presence in Hartford drew others to live in what
was then the nations’ preeminent literary community.
Today the Stowe Center draws visitors from all over the
world to Connecticut to walk in the footsteps of the
woman whose words changed the world.
By linking Stowe’s life and work to contemporary
challenges, the Stowe Center seeks to galvanize positive
action on social justice issues. The Center’s extensive
collections provide a foundation for experiences that
inspire audiences, including:
Interactive tours of Stowe’s home and the surrounding grounds. Themed tours change monthly. Specialized
tours offered regularly.
 Salons at Stowe – a 21st-century parlor conversation
designed to inspire the participants to move from
dialogue and debate to action on contemporary issues.
 School programs and workshops exploring the
historic context of Stowe’s life and social justice activism.

An International Heritage Destination
The Stowe Center attracts local, regional, national and
international visitors and consistently ranks in surveys as
a top draw for tourists to Greater Hartford. Two-thirds
of visitors are from outside Connecticut and 10 % are
international.
The Stowe Center is the site of the Harriet Beecher
Stowe House (1871), a Victorian Gothic Revival home;
the Katharine Seymour Day House (1884); holding the
Stowe Center Library and archives; and the Visitor
Center and the Museum Store in the carriage house
(1873).
Recurring exhibits include Who Is Uncle Tom?, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin: A Moral Battle Cry for Freedom, and Re-
forming the Season: Nineteenth Century Reformers and
Christmas.
The Stowe Center is the premier repository of artifacts,
material culture and papers from the extended BeecherStowe families.
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Prize
Writing to Advance Social Justice
In 2011, the Center launched the Stowe Prize,, honoring
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn for Half The Sky
and in 2012, awarded the Student Stowe Prizes for collegiate and high school writers. In 2013, the second Stowe
Prize will be awarded; followed in 2014, by the second
Student Stowe Prizes.
Preserving and interpreting Stowe’s Hartford home and the Center’s historic collections
Promoting vibrant discussion of her life and work  Inspiring commitment to social justice and positive change
77 Forest Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06105
860.522.9258
HarrietBeecherStowe.org
Open year round for visitors
in Hartford’s historic Nook Farm
Accredited by the
American Alliance of Museums
Her words changed the world
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
Katherine D. Kane, Executive Director
Executive Director of the Stowe Center since 1998, Ms. Kane is a national leader in the museum field.
She recently completed six years as one of 9 members of American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Commission
and a term as Treasurer of the 8,000 member American Association of State and Local History.
Board of Trustees
Stephan Christiansen, Chair
Conning
Mary Scanlon, Vice Chair
Xerox
Paula Healey, Treasurer
Bank of America
Marni Lewis, Secretary
Debby Applegate
Leslie Gianelli
Cassandra Butler
Moraima Gutierrez
2007 Pulitzer Prize, Historian
Community Volunteer
Judith Bramson
Marketing Consultant
Cheryl L. Cundall
United Technologies Corporation
Thomas O. Farrish
Day Pitney, LLP
Americares, Inc.
U.S. Small Business Administration
Joan Hedrick
Trinity College, 1995 Pulitzer Prize
Moraima Gutierrez
U.S. Small Business Administration
Paul Mounds
Office of the Governor, State of Connecticut
Deborah Randolph-Price
Transatlantic Re
Funders
Aetna
Alstom Power
Bank of America
Bradley Foster & Sargent
CT Dept. of Economic Development, CT Office of the Arts
Connecticut Health Foundation
Connecticut Humanities Council
Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network
Fiduciary Investment Advisors, LLC
First Niagra Foundation
Greater Hartford Arts Council
The Hartford
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Lincoln Financial Foundation
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Park Service, Save America’s Treasures
Robert & Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation
Travelers
Travelers Foundation
Trinity College
UnitedHealthcare
Unitec Technologies Coprortation
US Trust, Bank of America Wealth Management
William Beech Scoville Foundation
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums,
is a member of the American Association of State and Local History, a Charter Circle Member of
the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, a Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail Site,
a Connecticut Freedom Trail Site, and a member of Connecticut’s Historic Gardens.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
77 Forest Street Hartford, Connecticut 06105
860.522.9258 HarrietBeecherStowe.org