Susan B. Anthony Birthplace and Museum Opens
By Lauren Mayer | Online Only | Mar. 4, 2010
Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences. –Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony spent her first six years in an 1818 farmhouse in Adams, Mass. By 2006, that two-story house had been vacant for 11 years, and both its roof and foundation needed emergency repairs. Hoping to resuscitate the house as a museum, Rochester, N.Y., resident Carol Crossed bought it at auction for $164,500. Now restored, the National Register-listed house is scheduled to open in May as the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace and Museum.
"It was a long time coming," says Crossed, owner of the museum and president of its board. "The town has always wanted to make this a national shrine because it deserves to be."
The project cost almost $800,000, including the acquisition of the house, Crossed says. The goal of the restoration, which began about two years ago, was to return the farmhouse to its original state—with a small store on the ground floor and a residence on the top floor.
"The house had been occupied as a private residence for its entire life, and as a result had undergone change after change," says Jim Leitch, senior designer at Westall Architects, based in Williamstown, Mass., who oversaw the restoration. "The first thing we had to do was peel back those layers to find the original layers of the building."
On Feb. 14, about 60 people attended the museum's ribbon-cutting ceremony, held to commemorate Anthony's 190th birthday.
"People were excited, absolutely excited, especially those people who had been in the building before the project began," says Leitch, who attended the event. "It really was a dramatic transformation."
Anthony's home in Rochester, N.Y., a National Historic Landmark, has been open as a museum since 1945. In 2002, it received a Save America's Treasures grant toward its restoration.
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Comments
Submitted by history buff at: April 15, 2010
I am surprised it wasnt mentioned that Carol Crossed is a Very active anti-choice activist. She has said her intent is to further her anti-choice agenda by using Susan B Anthony as a sort of mascot for her cause. See www.susanbanthonymusuem.com Otherwise, nice house.
Submitted by CAhistorichomefan at: March 12, 2010
I’m still in shock the house was vacant for 11 years. So glad the building has been restored - can't believe they never did that before now. Sidenote: Also loved the blurb about Ryan Evans and Jeremy Knoll in New Orleans. Great to hear these two are making good with “Going Green”. Speaking of which – my teenager wants a shirt that says “Old is the New Green”. The links in the comments are kind of sketchy. I hope I didn't download any bugs/spyware off the one that says it is about the museum because it looks like a political agenda site (claims that seem pretty stretched and links about heath care (?)) that doesn't like the people with the place in North Adams. It says it is about the museum but it just has info opposed to it. There are so many historical places worth saving – if I’m ever on the east coast I will have to visit.
Submitted by Barb M at: March 11, 2010
Preservation of the Susan B. Anthony home can only be a plus for the community. I became aware of Susan B. as a very young child when my mother pointed out the building and imparted bits of information about Susan each time my family and I visited my uncle who lived nearby. I commend those who took on the challenge of preserving Susan B.'s birthplace thus providing the public a museum, whereby, as an educational institution, all can become aware of the contributions this remarable lady made to society.
Submitted by Janine at: March 10, 2010
As a former Adams resident I am thrilled to death that someone has finally taken the time to save this house. We drove by it almost every day and it was turning into a dump as a private home. Let's hope this handful of radicals doesn't turn off people investing in the museum. Seriously, it is almost as if they want to see Adams fail as a community. Aim your activism somewhere where it won't shoot my hometown in the foot would you?
Submitted by banthony at: March 10, 2010
As a direct descendent of Susan B. Anthony on my mothers side, Barbara L. Anthony, I am thrilled to see this happen. I knew nothing about this until my wife saw this online and forwarded it to me. I will be making the trip to see it.
Submitted by Debbierlus at: March 9, 2010
Susan B Anthony's birthplace has not been saved. It has been hijacked. Adams residents have formed a group to expose the story behind the owners and leadership of the Susan B Anthony birthplace museum - and their political affliations with major anti-choice organizations. Our commentary was recently featured on Northeast Report on NPR. You can listen to it here and find out the whole story on our website: http://susanbanthonymuseum.com/
Submitted by MaryG at: March 9, 2010
My aunt Bernice Madigan, formerly of Silver Spring, MD, now of Cheshire, MA was an honored guest for the ribbon-cutting of the museum. She's 110 years old and the oldest Massachusetts resident. How nice to read this story.
Submitted by brett at: March 9, 2010
In adddition to preserving such a great piece of our American history, I don't think you can ignore the postive influence such a pioneer of womens rights has provided. In addition, her embracing such a distinct postion on life continues to shed a radiant light for us all. "Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a better state of things for mothers generally, so their unborn little ones could not be willed away from them." - Susan B. Anthony 1889
Submitted by Jak at: March 9, 2010
Is the Anthony house in Adams, MA or North Adams, MA ??
Submitted by BerkshireBB at: March 9, 2010
Thanks for publishing this. Interested folks might want to visit the Berkshire Eagle website and look for the local angle about this museum opening. There is some controversy surrounding Anthony's comments on women's reproductive rights. "The other side of the story."
Submitted by cece at: March 9, 2010
love to know about courageous historical women