Emily Dickinson Museum

The Emily Dickinson Museum includes The Homestead, where poet Emily Dickinson was born and lived most of her life, and The Evergreens, home of the poet’s brother and his family. The two houses share three acres of the original Dickinson property in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts.

The Museum

WELCOME TO THE EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM: THE HOMESTEAD AND THE EVERGREENS! 

The Emily Dickinson Museum comprises two historic houses in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts associated with the poet Emily Dickinson and members of her family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Homestead was the birthplace and home of the poet Emily Dickinson. The Evergreens, next door, was home to her brother Austin, his wife Susan, and their three children.

The Museum was created in 2003 when the two houses merged under the ownership of Amherst College. Its mission is to educate diverse audiences about Emily Dickinson’s life, family, creative work, times, and enduring relevance, and to preserve and interpret the Homestead and The Evergreens as historical resources for the benefit of scholars and the general public.

In just a few short years the Emily Dickinson Museum has established a vibrant presence and ambitious program for encouraging a broad appreciation for this remarkable poet's unparalleled work.  A few of the Museum's most noteworthy accomplishments include:

• creating four distinctive tours that present the story of Emily Dickinson from a variety of engaging perspectives.
• designing lively programs--from poetry marathons and an annual 19th-century children's circus to rock concerts, lectures and hands-on workshops--to attract a wide and diverse audience.
• installing the Museum's first professionally-designed interpretive exhibit, "my Verse is alive," about the early publication of Dickinson's poetry.
• establishing a national program of intensive professional development workshops for K-12 teachers.
• completing a series of planning documents to guide long-term restoration of both historic houses and the grounds.
• restoring the Homestead's exterior to its authentic Dickinson-era color scheme.
• enhancing the mechanical systems, fire detection systems, and drainage systems to promote long-term safety and preservation of the historic houses and collection

History of the Emily Dickinson Museum

THE MUSEUM WAS CREATED IN 2003 when the two houses merged under the ownership of Amherst College. The Museum is dedicated to educating diverse audiences about Emily Dickinson’s life, family, creative work, times, and enduring relevance, and to preserving and interpreting the Homestead and The Evergreens as historical resources for the benefit of scholars and the general public.The Homestead and The Evergreens, with such close ties in the nineteenth century, saw their paths diverge in the twentieth. The Homestead was sold in 1916 to another Amherst family and underwent some modernization. In 1965, in recognition of the poet’s growing stature, the Homestead was purchased by Amherst College and open to the public for tours. It also served as a faculty residence for many years.

Next door, The Evergreens, occupied by Dickinson family heirs until 1988, remained virtually unchanged for a hundred years. In 1991, The Evergreens passed to a private testamentary trust, the Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust (named in honor of Emily Dickinson’s niece), which began developing the house as a museum.

Collaborations between the Homestead and The Evergreens began as the Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust prepared to open Austin Dickinson’s house to the public in the late 1990s. The success of these joint efforts suggested that uniting as one museum would have great advantages for the public as well as for administration and governance of the sites. Together the houses tell a more complete story about the poet, her family, and the world in which she lived.

To that end, The Emily Dickinson Museum was created on July 1, 2003, when ownership of The Evergreens was transferred by the Martha Dickinson Bianchi Trust to Amherst College. The merger of the houses and the three acres on which they stand restored the parts of the property to the estate Dickinson herself had known and furthers the College's long-standing and complex associations with the Dickinson family and its stewardship of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and other manuscripts.

Photos at the museum 

The Homestead, built around 1813 for Emily Dickinson’s grandparents, was where Emily was born in 1830. Her family moved to another house in 1840, but moved back here in 1855. Emily and her sister, Lavinia, lived here for the rest of their lives

 Front yard of the museum.

The only authenticated image of Emily Dickinson, circa 1847

In Emily’s bedroom (upper left corner of the house) is the small table at which she wrote

Parlor of the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass.

Another view of the parlor at the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass

Country Farmhouse in Winter (1857). Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872). Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass

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A nursery door at the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass.

Detail of a nursery door at the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass.

 View of the entrance hall of the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass

Entrance hall of the Evergreens. Courtesy of the Emily Dickinson Museum: the Homestead and the Evergreens. Amherst, Mass.

To know more about the Emily Dickinson Museum -- The Homestead and the Evergreens 

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