Open House Planned at Anthony Birthplace

08:03PM / Thursday, February 12, 2009

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ADAMS, Mass. — The birthday of the town's most famous daughter will be celebrated on Sunday at Susan B. Anthony's birthplace on East Road.

The afternoon open house at the historic home at 67 East Road will run from 11:30 to 2:30. The Federal style home was built by Anthony's father, Daniel, in 1818 and she was born there two years later. The house has been on the National Register of Historic Places for 24 years; the dream of making the house into a museum has persisted since 1910.

Carol Crossed purchased the home in 2006, on the 100th anniversary of the suffragist's death. Two phases of renovation and preservation of the building were completed in 2008. 

"This is a rare opportunity for the public to walk through the house and enter the dream of making it into a museum," she said. "We have a new roof, a state-of-the-art heating system and site stabilization. The second floor is a modern space for an office and storage. Guests will have an opportunity to register as friends and supporters of the museum and to offer written suggestions."

The board of directors launched the third phase of restoration by retaining the Williamstown firm of Westall Architects last month. The first floor of the house will be dedicated to memorializing the quest for Anthony's holistic view of human rights that will include slaves, the unborn and women. The formative first seven years of Anthony's life were lived in this house in a Quaker setting that instructed girls in the same fashion as boys. At least 11 area farm girls boarded with the Anthonys while working in her father's whole-cloth textile mill, powered by a waterwheel on nearby Tophet Brook, part of the Hoosic River watershed.

The plans for the museum will highlight the familial and regional influences that shaped Anthony's early life. In addition to professional building assessments and environmental impact studies, the development of the museum includes cooperation with the Adams Historical Association and has employed textile and women's studies historians.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

For more information and directions to the Anthony birthplace, visit the Web site.