~ Harriet Beecher Stowe House ~ Bowdoin College ~ Brunswick, Maine ~



Images copyright 2005, text copyright 2006, by Hilary K. Justice, Ph.D.
Please email me at hjustic at ilstu dot edu for permissions or larger images.

This is the house in which Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, the book to which Abraham Lincoln attributed heightened awareness of the conditions of slavery and the consequent sway of opinion in the Northern States against the institution of slavery in the years prior to the Civil War. Pretty much a landmark of national, if not international, importance, yes?

And isn't it a beautiful home? Never mind the historical and cultural relevance, it's also a lovely example of traditional New England architecture, intrinsically interesting and worth preserving for that fact alone.

Bowdoin College - a wonderful school with an excellent reputation and illustrious history - is poised to make a decision regarding the future of this National Historic Register landmark. One would hope that Bowdoin will take whatever steps are necessary to preserve, restore, and utilize this home and not subject it to "demolition by neglect."

The photos that follow convey the condition of the house as of early summer 2005.


Tour of Bowdoin's Harriet Beecher Stowe House
*****

Front Door




Front Door, detail
(Etched glass sidelights broken)




Walking around the outside of the house, clockwise.
(Note: I say "outside" although, as you'll see, there's really little to distinguish between "outside" and "inside")

1. Looking up: Peeling Paint.
(Over more peeling paint. Over wood.)




2. Still looking up: Gutters? What gutters?




3. Still looking up: Lack of gutters + lack of good paint = Rot




4. Looking down: More broken glass...




5. Still looking down: ...which used to be a window...




6. Looking through hole where window is supposed to be:



Wooden substructure exposed to the elements -
and we're talking Maine, so those elements are extreme -
not good.

7. Looking up again: Saran Wrap + Tape.




8. Looking down again: The foundation of the house, on the left side (viewed from street)

A crack in a foundation is a good place for a tree to grow.




9. Still looking down: Even worse, a crack in the foundation's corner!




Once the horror reaches a certain level, things like this seem minor by comparison:

10. Interior ceiling:




11. Weeds.




12. Dry rot in window sill:




13. Plaque, proclaiming the house a Registered National Historic Landmark:




14. Backing up, this side view gives another indication of what this house could be.




Unless something is done, this lovely, historically and culturally important home:



is on its way to this fate:



(The site pictured above was, until very recently, another historic home owned by Bowdoin.)


16. For comparison, this is the Joshua Chamberlain house, also in Brunswick but not owned by Bowdoin, which has been beautifully cared for, restored, and is open as a museum.



*****

Bowdoin, please...do the right thing.