Reconstruction of The Evergreens Carriage House

On Tuesday, August 27, 2024 the Emily Dickinson Museum began the reconstruction of the Dickinson family Carriage House that once stood east of The Evergreens, the home of Emily Dickinson’s brother Austin and his wife Susan. The project flows from a recently-completed long range plan, which maps programmatic and capital enhancements over the next decade at the Museum’s historic downtown Amherst location.

Digital rendering of completed Evergreens Carriage House (edmsSTUDIO)

The John and Elizabeth Armstrong Carriage House–scheduled for completion in 2025–will initially serve as a much-needed site for visitor welcome, orientation and services to enable a third and final phase of Dickinson Homestead restoration. In the longer term, the reconstructed carriage house will be dedicated to student and visitor learning and engagement. By expanding access to the Museum and its programs for both onsite and online visitors, the changes firmly establish the Museum as the premier center for the study and celebration of Dickinson’s life and work, and as a source and site of inspiration for new generations of poets, artists, writers, and thinkers.

The carriage house reconstruction project is supported by a major pledge of $750,000 from former Board members and long-time friends John and Elizabeth Armstrong. “We’ve always been proud of our association with the Museum, recognizing its importance to our regional community and now–through the wonders of technology–to the world.” stated Elizabeth, adding “We’ve been drawn over the years to supporting singular projects that open multiple possibilities for the Museum. The Carriage House is just such a project.”

The Museum continues to raise funds for the project. “We were incredibly fortunate to have wonderful support from John and Lise Armstrong, which enabled us to put shovels in the ground today,” says Erin Martin, Senior Director of Development. “Because this project is a very visible demonstration of the Museum’s ambitions for the future, we are asking our loyal donors and friends to support the project – as a community.” Martin says the Museum is seeking additional funding to help fit out the interior spaces of the new Carriage House to optimize its flexibility and energy efficiency.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
The design calls for reconstructing the exterior historic appearance of the carriage house as faithfully as possible while optimizing interior functions and flow. At the outset of the design phase, museum staff worked with architects at edmSTUDIO to track down details of the original structure in historic maps, deeds, insurance documents, photographs, and archaeological reports. The original structure may have been built as early as the 1840s as an outbuilding associated with the modest cottage owned by the poet’s father, which was incorporated into The Evergreens dwelling, built for Austin and Susan Dickinson in 1856. In a photograph taken in about 1870, the carriage house appears as a prominent yet simple vernacular structure with window and door openings barely visible. Insurance maps from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries revealed that it was a wood frame structure with two levels and a metal roof. Details such as these gave the design team guidance about the exterior appearance and finishes.

Archival photograph of The Evergreens and Carriage House (in middle ground of photo)

As new construction, the carriage house gives the Emily Dickinson Museum an opportunity to combine its sustainability and historical priorities. Since 2006, the museum has recognized that full interpretation of the historic Dickinson site and the poet’s life cannot be completely understood from a functional and aesthetic perspective without reconstruction of the outbuildings. While the current project is being carried out as a “historic reconstruction,” it also gives the museum the opportunity to advance its sustainability goals. Working with Monica Del Rio Perez and Tim Widman of edmSTUDIO, the design calls for construction techniques and materials selections that will produce significant energy savings and carbon reduction for heating and cooling. The museum has engaged Teagno Construction, Inc., as general contractor for the project.

Jane and Robert Keiter Family Executive Director Jane Wald says, “Reconstruction of the Evergreens carriage house is a true milestone for the Emily Dickinson Museum. It’s the linchpin of our future plans to complete the Homestead restoration – an effort that’s already transformed our sense of who Emily Dickinson was and how she lived. Not only does the carriage house begin to fill out the Dickinson landscape, but its flexible interior also offers greater comfort, better service, and much-needed space for public and educational programming that’s already on the drawing board.”

Image of Dickinson's room featuring her writing desk and white dress

Studio Sessions

“Sweet hours have perished here;
This is a mighty room;
Within its precincts hopes have played, –
Now shadows in the tomb.”
-Fr1785

Spend a “sweet hour” in Emily Dickinson’s creative space where she penned her startling poetry and honed her revolutionary voice. Whether you are a writer, an artist, a composer, a poet, or a lover of poetry, you’ll find inspiration in Emily Dickinson’s own room. Let this quiet experience jumpstart your next creative journey.

Participants may reserve up to two hours in the room. A small table and chair will be provided. Participants will experience the atmosphere of Dickinson’s corner chamber, and enjoy the view from the her windows.

This specialty program can be a wonderful gift and is a great way to support the Museum’s mission.

Program Guidelines:

Photo ID must be presented upon arrival for your studio session and a photocopy will be made, which will be destroyed after your session.
The door to the room will remain open, and staff will be present nearby at all times. Participants must remain in the designated area of the room and may not touch the historic furnishings.
Bags, food, and beverages other than bottled water must be left outside the room.
No pens, inks, or paints permitted. Pencil and paper or laptop only. Other materials must be approved by special request in advance.
Photography for non-commercial, personal use is permitted.
Sessions will not be rescheduled or refunded after booking except in the case of an emergency. Refunding and rescheduling are at the discretion of the Emily Dickinson Museum.

When reserving your session, please navigate to the calendar view to see available days and times. Availability is limited.

RESERVE YOUR SESSION

Pricing:
1 person for 1 hour: $300
1 person for 2 hours: $500
2 people for 1 hour: $400
2 people for 2 hours: $600

Please direct questions to EDMPrograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.

Press Release:
Collections Database

EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PUBLIC COLLECTION DATABASE AND IMLS GRANT TO CONTINUE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT

The Museum’s collection had remained largely undocumented and inaccessible, but has now been digitized and published for public use for the very first time.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Patrick Fecher
pfecher@emilydickinsonmuseum.org

a view of different items in the Emily Dickinson Museum's collections (Wednesday, September 13, 2023, AMHERST, MA) – Today the Emily Dickinson Museum announces the premiere of its online collection database. The Museum’s collection had remained largely undocumented and inaccessible until a major grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2019 funded the documentation and baseline cataloging of the entire collection for the very first time. This project has improved collection care, providedpublic access to the collection, will strengthen the museum’s interpretation, and open promising new research opportunities.

The Emily Dickinson Museum’s collection is the largest and most diverse assemblage of objects associated with Emily Dickinson and her family to be found anywhere. It consists of more than 8,000 artifacts, including fine art such as an impressive collection of Hudson River school paintings; cooking, dining, lighting, and heating artifacts; personal items such as Edward Dickinson’s wallet, Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson’s sewing kit, children’s toys, handwork, and musical instruments; souvenir objects and art from travels abroad; and a large assortment of clothing and textiles. The collection captures the details of nineteenth-century life in a semi-rural educational and agricultural community and vividly illustrates the daily life and writing habits of one of the world’s greatest poets.

Jane and Robert Keiter Family Executive Director Jane Wald says, “This was, for practical purposes, a hidden collection until a grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services allowed us to improve our management of these thousands of Dickinson family objects. It’s a significant accomplishment to celebrate in the Museum’s 20th anniversary year.”

Collections Manager Megan Ramsey says, “Documenting our collection is a huge step in taking better care of our artifacts and providing more access to visitors, researchers, and students. With this new digital resource, the museum is able to share more stories about the lives of the Dickinsons.”

The Institute for Museum and Library Services has awarded the Emily Dickinson Museum additional funding to improve documentation about this collection by digitizing institutional records, including photographs, letters and other information related to the artifacts. These records will help to enhance database entries and provide greater context for the collection. The Emily Dickinson Museum will also survey archival material at other institutions, including Amherst College, Jones Library, Mount Holyoke College, Harvard University, Brown University, and Yale University, in order to gather information on the extent of primary sources related to Museum collections objects. Following an intensive three-year IMLS-funded project to create a foundational and comprehensive catalog database, digitizing collections-related information is the logical next step in documenting the collection and understanding the histories of each object. This project will result in more complete collections information management, enabling the Emily Dickinson Museum to interpret the poet’s life and times more fully, and provide public and scholarly access to an important cultural collection.

To access the Collection database, visit: emilydickinsonmuseum.org/museum-collection

For images, please visit: bit.ly/EDM-Images-Collections-Database

ABOUT THE EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM

The Emily Dickinson Museum is dedicated to sparking the imagination by amplifying Emily Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice from the place she called home.

The Museum comprises two historic houses—the Dickinson Homestead and The Evergreens in the center of Amherst, Mass.—that were home to the poet (1830-1886) and members of her immediate family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Museum was created in 2003 when the two houses merged under the ownership of the Trustees of Amherst College. The Museum is overseen by a separate Board of Governors and is responsible for raising its own operating, program, and capital funds.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. We advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. IMLS envisions a nation where individuals and communities have access to museums and libraries to learn from and be inspired by the trusted information, ideas, and stories they contain about our diverse natural and cultural heritage. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov

Dickinson's writing desk with pens, scraps of paper and her lamp

Mild Nights!
At the Emily Dickinson Museum

IN-PERSON PROGRAM

‘Mild Nights!’ at the Emily Dickinson Museum

Spend an evening in Emily Dickinson’s home, in quiet community with fellow creatives! For Dickinson, everyday life was a wellspring of poetic imagination, and evidence suggests she put pen to paper whenever and wherever that inspiration struck. Reserve a desk in one of the Homestead’s restored 19th-century spaces where the poet spent her own ‘Wild Nights!’.

On this decidedly mild night, participants can write letters, compose poetry or prose, draw, read, or contemplate for two uninterrupted hours. A tour guide welcomes the group with a brief orientation to the house, and each participant is provided with a chair and a small writing table with a desk light in their designated space.

2025 Sessions
Thursday, February 13, 5-7pm (Sold out)
Tuesday, March 18, 5-7pm
Tuesday, April 22, 5-7pm

Pricing: $65 per person

RESERVE YOUR SEAT

“The event itself was a complete joy. Sitting in the library of the Dickinson home and writing for two hours was a dream. I felt as though I had traveled back in time. The quiet atmosphere added to the experience. So much of life is loud, but that night was quiet.” — Beth Ann J.

Rooms

The Parlors (4 seats): A double room on the first floor with spaces for family time and entertaining. Find yourself seated near the portrait of the Dickinson children, an original Italianate marble fireplace mantel, or an 1852 square piano amid plush fabrics and cool tones once enjoyed by Amherst’s elite.

The Library (2 seats): A cozy room on the first floor where Emily Dickinson accessed the literary world through the family’s vast collection of verse and prose, news subscriptions, and academic texts. The poet’s conservatory opens into this room.

Emily Dickinson’s Bedroom (2 seats): The southwest room on the second floor where the poet spent her most private writing time. Find yourself surrounded by the rose-patterned wallpaper and personal effects, including her sleigh bed.

Northwest Bedchamber (1 seat): This second floor bedroom was a refuge for Emily Dickinson’s mother in her final years. The poet spent significant time caring for her mother in this space, which features an original wallpaper pattern and family art and furniture.

Learn more about these spaces through the Virtual Exploration.
Find out about accessibility at the Museum.

‘Mild Nights!’ are intended to be quiet experiences, but you will likely be sharing a space with other participants. Looking for a solo experience? Check out private Studio Sessions in Emily Dickinson’s bedroom.

Program Guidelines:

Registration closes two weeks prior to the event date. Each session requires a minimum of six participants to run. In the case of cancelation, ticket purchasers will be notified two weeks before their session and their ticket will be refunded or rescheduled.
Photo ID must be presented upon arrival for your session and a photocopy will be made which will be destroyed after your session.
The door to rooms in use will remain open, and staff will be present nearby at all times. Participants must remain in the designated area of the room and may not touch the historic furnishings.
Bags, food, and beverages other than bottled water must be left in the designated area of the tour center.
No pens, inks, or paints permitted. Pencil and paper or electronic device only. Other materials must be approved by special request in advance. Outlets may not be available; please arrive with your device fully charged.
Participants agree to help maintain a quiet environment for all.
Photography for non-commercial, personal use is permitted.
Refunding and rescheduling are at the discretion of the Emily Dickinson Museum. Unless a session is canceled by the Museum, ticket refunds or rescheduling are not permitted except in the case of emergency.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT

Please direct questions to EDMPrograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.