Martin Luther King Day

Special Events

Martin Luther King Day

January 20, 2020

Martin Luther King Day is the perfect day to practice “good visioning” and visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. Join us to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harriet Beecher Stowe. All day we will be sowing seeds of love and learning while also exploring issues and ideas that continue to inform our collective ideas of justice and civility today. The Stowe Center will create an environment of inspiration all day with the hope that visitors will be motivated to action – write a love letter, take a tour, share a snack, and explore issues at the midday Salon at Lunch. The campus is open to the public from 11 am – 4 pm. Everything is free and audiences of all ages are encouraged to participate.

Activities:

Free house tours all day 11 am – 4 pm
HBSC will be offering two ways in which to experience the Harriet Beecher Stowe House including 30-minute guided tours from 11-1:30 pm and Explore at Your Own Pace (also known as self-guided tours) from 2-4 pm.
Write a Love letter 11 am – 4 pm
Drop in the Dining Room of the Day House (for as short or long as you wish!) to write a love letter. All materials will be provided.
Salon at Stowe: Love, Power, and Activism 12 – 1 pm
Join us in the Visitor Center to discuss King and Stowe’s thoughts on love and how it informed their activism. Bag lunch optional.
Cookies and Caffeine 11 am – 4 pm
Visitors are welcome to share a snack of cookies and sip some tea and coffee in the Day House. Come enjoy the architecture and community while supporting the Stowe Center’s mission of inspiring us to action.

Location Harriet Beecher Stowe Center / 77 Forest Street / Hartford CT 06015

Doors Open 11:00 am

Program 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

Contact Teacher Phone Number:(Required)

Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Adult Group Interest Form

Group Tour Interest Form 2022

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

Group Name:

Name of Primary Contact:(Required)

Contact Email:(Required)

Contact Phone Number:(Required)

What date would you like to visit? (The Stowe Center typically books group tours for Thursday through Sunday visits.)

Expected number of visitors:(Required)

Please enter a number from 20 to 42.

Please indicate the number of adults, seniors, and children expected in your group:

Are there special accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Are you interested in a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.