Emily Dickinson Museum is located in her family’s original homestead; it celebrates and commemorates her legacy. Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (1830-1886) was born on this homestead and lived there most of her life. She started writing poetry at 11, but it was only in her late 20s that she developed her signature writing style, characterized by ignoring the rules of syntax and grammar and using capitalization and punctuation in unconventional ways. Following her mother’s illness, which required Dickinson to take on all the household responsibilities, she increasingly secluded herself from outside contact, communicating with her family and friends by notes and letters. Within the safety and comfort of her home, she was the most productive, and between 1858 to 1865, she wrote about 800 poems, assembling them in booklets, today known as her fascicles. Over time, her solitude worsened, and she went out of her home only to attend the garden and to visit her brother and his family in Evergreens, the house next door. By 1885, Dickinson’s mental and physical health had declined, and she died the following year at 55. During her lifetime, she published a few poems, most of which were published after her death by her sister, Lavinia. Since its first publication in 1890, Dickinson’s first collection was never out of print. Her poems received critical acclaim, and Dickinson became recognized as one of the most prominent and influential American poets. After Dickinson’s death, her sister lived in the homestead, and later, it was inherited by their brother’s daughter before it got sold. In 1963, the homestead was designated a National Historic Landmark, and two years later, the Trustees of Amherst College bought and opened it to the public as a house museum. Today, the Emily Dickinson Museum comprises the two houses of the Dickinson family – the homestead, where she lived, and Evergreens, her brother’s home. Visitors are welcome to explore the historic rooms and learn about Dickinson’s life and complicated personality through the museum’s collection, which contains over 800 artifacts, including family photographs, original 19th-century furniture, artworks, dinnerware, and textile. The museum hosts various events, such as poetry readings, Garden Days, the annual Poetry Walk, the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, and the Phosphorescence Poetry Reading Series. Close by, there are more sites to visit, including the Amherst Historical Society and Museum, the Museums10, the Amherst College Museum of Natural History, and the Yiddish Book Center. Read more...

Located at the birthplace of Clara Barton is a museum honoring her life and legacy. Barton was a nurse and educator, best known as the founder of the American Red Cross. She was an independent nurse during the Civil War, serving in the most brutal battles and got the nickname ‘Angel of the Battlefield.’ After the war ended, Barton kept on helping the society, established the office of missing soldiers, and in 1881, after learning about the International Red Cross, she established the American Red Cross and became its first president. Barton’s actions have inspired countless people around the world and have a significant impact until this day. Clara Barton lived in this house for 32 years. The 19th-century single-story wood-frame house contains periodical artifacts as well as personal belongings of Barton and her family, including her mother’s clock, her father’s wallet, and even Barton’s field desk, where she wrote letters on behalf of the soldiers she nursed. The site is also housing The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc. The homestead was bought in 1921 by the Unitarian-Universalist Federation of Women, who established it as a museum honoring Barton’s legacy. Read more...

Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum is located at the original family homestead of the Anthonys’ who lived there between 1818-1895. In this historic house Susan B. Anthony was born and raised. The homestead was purchased in 1998 by Linda McConchie and her daughters Lindsay and Elizabeth. They opened it occasionally to the pubic with a small exhibition. In 2006 Carol Crossed purchased the homestead, and it went under major restoration. The mission of the museum and education center is “to preserving the birthplace and raising public awareness of the wide-ranging legacy of the great social reformer, Susan B. Anthony, who was a pioneering feminist and suffragist as well as a noteworthy figure in the abolitionist, opposition to Restellism (opposition to abortion), and temperance movements of the 19th century.” The museum preserves the house as it was in the 18th century, giving a glimpse of the life of the people of these times. Among the rooms on display are the Kitchen and Hearth, which were the gathering places of the house, the Birthing Room where Anthony and her sisters were born, and the Legacy Room, where a timeline with key events in Anthony’s life can be seen as well as suffrage memorabilia. A visit to the house will shed light on Anthony’s path, becoming a social activist and reformer, and reveal more about her life story. The museum hosts seasonal community events as well as events in commemoration days like the birthday celebration of Susan B. Anthony on February 16th, International Women’s Day on March 8th and more. Read more...

Abigail Adams was the second First Lady of the United States and the mother of the 6th President. She was a close advisor of both her husband and son and had a significant influence on American politics. She was an advocate for women’s rights, an opponent of slavery, and considered as a Founder of the United States. Her home in Massachusetts, where she was born and lived for 20 years, is a symbol of Adams’ education and ideals that later would be reflected on her contribution to the nation. The 1685 restored house and the periodical furnishing will give you a new perspective on the 18th-century way of life, as well as a better understanding of the journey of the First Lady to become a national treasure. Visitors can take the ‘behind the scenes’ tour and participate in special events, such as ‘Tea with Mrs. Adams’, ‘Women’s History Month Panel’, and the Abigail Adams Historical Society Annual Meeting and Dinner. Read more...

This was the home of Rose Standish Nichols – a landscape gardener, pacifist, suffragist, a member of the Cornish Art Colony, and one of the founders of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. The four-story house preserves the lifestyle of a typical Beacon Hill family during the 19th and early 20th century. The rooms, converted to galleries, showcase the original furnishing and art pieces the Nichols’ collected over the years, such as 17th and 19th centuries American and European wooden furniture, Flemish tapestries, family portraits, oriental rugs, Italian paintings, and a sculpture made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Hear the story of Rose and her family, and enjoy special events, including ‘Nichols after Dark’, gallery talks, and the Traditional Beacon Hill Eggnog Party. Read more...

The Museum of the National Center of Afro American is dedicated to the heritage of black art and culture worldwide, including African, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Latin. The exhibits reveal the personal as well as the collective narratives of the African diaspora throughout the years. Explore the diverse collection of historical and contemporary art – from sculpture and painting to photography and decorative arts. Enjoy the changing exhibitions and the permanent exhibit of the Aspelta tomb – a burial chamber of a Nubian King. Visitors are welcome to participate in education programs, both for adults and children, and attend special events such as lectures, conversation with the curator, and the annual Black Nativity Performance. The National Center of Afro-American Artists, and later the museum, was established in 1968 by Dr. Elma Lewis, an arts educator. Her goal was to create an artistic and cultural center that celebrates black art and empower black intellectual and creative development. Read more...

The museum is named after its founder Isabella Stewart Gardner, an art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. The museum, opened in 1903, housed in a building designed like a Venetian Renaissance palace with an interior garden courtyard covered by a glass roof. The first art pieces displayed in the museum were from Gardner’s private collection. After realizing that their house is not a proper place to display their growing art collection, Isabella Stewart Gardner and her husband decided to build a museum. When her husband passed away, Gardner purchased the land and helped to design the structure of the museum. She moved into the museum and personally arranged the works of art in the galleries. Her vision was to create a place of joy and education for the public forever. The site of her former home, at 152 Beacon Street, is a stop on the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail. The museum became world famous as the victim to the biggest unsolved art theft in world history, when in 1990 two men dressed as police stole 13 works of art by masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Manet, and Degas. Today their empty frames are hanging in the museum, as symbols of hope. Inspired by the unfortunate happening, French Conceptual artist Sophie Calle has created her famous series “Last Seen” – replacing the stolen artworks with texts describing them. The series has been exhibited around the world. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum consists more than 7,500 artworks, including painting, sculptures, ceramics, textile, furniture, rare books, and archival objects from ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, Asia, 19th-century America, and the Islamic world. One of its iconic cultural offerings was a performance by Ruth St. Denis and singing by Australian opera star Nellie Melba. Among its diverse collection of fine art, there are works by Vermeer, Botticelli, and Rembrandt, as well as a contemporary art collection and works by Bunker, Whistler, and Sargent. The museum is also an Artist-in-Residence program, where artists live and create. Visitors are welcome to stroll the courtyard and the greenhouse, enjoy the display of flowers and plants, and participate in special events, such as lectures, concerts, performances, and open studios. Read more...

This historic house museum was the childhood and family home of Louisa May Alcott. In this house, she wrote the classic novel Little Women on a shelf desk her father built for her. Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a poet, novelist, abolitionist, and suffragist who promoted social change and encouraged women to register to vote. The museum was founded to cherish Alcott’s legacy in art, literature, philosophy, education, and social justice and opened to the public in 1912. At the well-preserved 19th-century house, visitors walk across the rooms where the Alcott family lived while enjoying a display of the original furnishings owned by the Alcotts, including portraits of the family members, the family china, laundry drying rack, soapstone sink, and quilts made by Alcott’s mother. The museum organizes workshops, educational programs, tours, and special events, such as A Little Women Christmas at Orchard House, A Valentine’s Visit with the Alcotts, and Little Women in the 21st Century, Celebrating 150 Years of Inspiration. While in Concord, make sure to include a visit to one of the oldest cemeteries in the United States, the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It is the final resting place of many notable people, including Louisa May Alcott, Harriett Lothrop, known by her pseudonym Margaret Sidney, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and many more. Read more...