graphic for exhibition The Preferred Flower — paintings by Mabel Loomis Todd feauturing a variety of painted flowers from Todd's works

Opening Reception
The Preferred Flower —
Tuesday, November 10, 5:30pm

Join us for a special evening honoring the joint exhibition opening of The Preferred Flower — Paintings by Mabel Loomis Todd!

Date: Tuesday, November 10
Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm, opening remarks 6pm at Amherst History Center
Locations:
- Amherst History Center (45 Boltwood Walk)
- Emily Dickinson Museum (280 Main Street)

Guests are encouraged to kick off the celebration at the Amherst History Center, where opening remarks will take place at 6:00 PM. From there, explore both feature displays at your own pace. The venues are just a scenic five-minute walk apart, and a complimentary shuttle will run continuously between both locations from 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM.

Complimentary refreshments will be served at both locations. This event is free and open to all—come raise a glass with us!

The collection of eighteen paintings in The Preferred Flower was the gift of Ruth Owen Jones, Amherst historian and longtime guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum and Amherst Historical Society. The paintings span a significant decade, from 1876, when Mabel Todd studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, to 1886, the year of Emily Dickinson’s death.

The Emily Dickinson Fund provides for the Museum’s day-to-day operations, undergirds its highest priorities, and is foundational to its overall excellence and success. The Fund supplies 36% of our operating budget. Your gift has an immediate impact and provides critical, unrestricted support. Every donor and every gift sustains and elevates the Museum’s mission for generations of admirers to come. Learn more about how you can support the Museum.

The collection of eighteen paintings in The Preferred Flower was the gift of Ruth Owen Jones, Dickinson scholar, historian, and longtime guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum and Amherst Historical Society. The paintings span a significant decade, from 1876, when Mabel Todd studied at the New England Conservatory in Boston, to 1886, the year of Emily Dickinson’s death.

three candles sit on the mantle in The Evergreens

Emily Dickinson’s 196th Birthday Open House
Sat., Dec. 12, 1-4:45pm ET, 2026

IN-PERSON PROGRAM at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA

You are cordially invited to the Emily Dickinson Museum’s celebration of the poet’s 196th birthday! On Saturday, December 12, join us in person at the Homestead and The Evergreens for an open house with tours, crafts, music, hot cider and gingerbread cookies!

Emily Dickinson, the second child of Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross Dickinson, was born on December 10, 1830, in the family Homestead on Main Street in Amherst, Massachusetts, now the site of the Emily Dickinson Museum. She celebrated 55 birthdays before her death in 1886. Some of the poet’s most favored themes were time and im/mortality. She wrote, “We turn not older with years, but newer every day.” (Johnson L379)

Registrants are encouraged to choose a "Pay Your Way" ticket that supports the cost of Museum programs. Free tickets are also available at registration.

REGISTER

This year, as we celebrate Emily’s 196th birthday, we invite you to honor her with a gift to the Museum. Your contribution to the Emily Dickinson Fund keeps her voice vibrant and her story alive for generations to come. Thank you!

GIVE A BIRTHDAY GIFT

The Preferred Flower —
Paintings by Mabel Loomis Todd

IN-PERSON PAINTING EXHIBITION
On view Tuesday, November 10 through December 20

“That without suspecting it you should send me the preferred flower of life, seems almost supernatural.”

The installation is included with admission during the Museum’s open hours and will be on view beginning November 10.

An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, November 10, Mabel Todd’s 170th birthday, 5:30 to 7:30 pm at both the Emily Dickinson Museum at 280 Main Street and the Amherst History Center, the Society’s satellite location at 45 Boltwood Walk, just a five-minute walk from each other. Participants are encouraged to begin their evening at the Amherst History Center where opening remarks will occur at 6:00 pm. A shuttle between sites will be running between 6:15 pm and 7 pm. The public is warmly invited to attend; refreshments will be provided.

The Emily Dickinson Museum and the Amherst History Center are pleased to announce The Preferred Flower, an exhibition illuminating the expressive botanical paintings of Mabel Loomis Todd (1856–1932). Best known as the primary editor of Emily Dickinson’s posthumously published poetry, Todd was also an accomplished painter whose vivid renderings of flowers captured the natural world with precision and vitality.

The exhibition title originates from an 1882 letter Emily Dickinson wrote to Todd after receiving a painting of “Indian Pipes” (Monotropa uniflora): “That without suspecting it you should send me the preferred flower of life, seems almost supernatural.” A few days later, Dickinson followed up with one of her favorite poems “A Route of Evanescence” indicating “I cannot make an Indian Pipe but please accept a Humming Bird.” Todd’s “Indian Pipe” illustration went on to grace the cover of every 19th-century edition of Dickinson’s poetry.

The exhibition features eighteen floral studies, including detailed renderings of Monotropa uniflora, trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens), cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita), arrowheads (Sagittaria latifolia), wild mountain pinks (Silene caroliniana), bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata), witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), and more. The 18 paintings on view were donated to the Emily Dickinson Museum by 40-year Emily Dickinson scholar and former guide at both Amherst History Museum and the Emily Dickinson Homestead, Ruth Jones. Nine of the paintings will be on view at the Emily Dickinson Museum and nine at the Amherst History Center on Boltwood Walk.

Emily Dickinson Museum

Admission: Free and open to the public
Hours: 10:00 AM–3:00 PM

Amherst History Center

Admission: $5 regular | $3 with Emily Dickinson Museum admission button
Hours: Wed–Fri 1:00–4:00 PM | Sat 11:00 AM–3:00 PM

ABOUT MABEL LOOMIS TODD

Writer, editor, lecturer, traveler, conservationist, and artist, Mabel Loomis Todd (1856–1932) exercised her agile curiosity across the fields of literature, arts, and science. Best known today for her critical role in bringing the poetry of Emily Dickinson to the public, Todd also pursued creative work of her own, including theater, music, and painting. She painted on textiles, ceramics, screens, and wall surfaces, most often capturing wildflowers and other features of the natural world. This collection of her botanical oil paintings offers a uniquely intimate glimpse into an artistic practice of a lifetime. Small in scale, these works invite close looking and become occasions for studying color, form, texture, and the distinctive character of individual plants.

Born in Washington, D.C., Todd studied voice and piano at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where she also cultivated a talent for flower-painting and writing. She married astronomer David Peck Todd who, in 1881, joined the Amherst College faculty. In Amherst, Mabel Todd found a lively intellectual community and a vivid, inspiring natural landscape. Always industrious and energetic, she accompanied her husband on scientific expeditions; wrote about their travels, astronomy, art, literature, and other subjects; lectured publicly on all these topics; and cultivated a lifelong engagement with the arts. Her contributions to the town included founding roles with the Amherst Historical Society, the Amherst Woman’s Club, and the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Arriving in Amherst in 1881, Mabel Loomis Todd grew to be closely connected with the Dickinson family and ultimately became a romantic partner of the poet’s married brother, Austin. But it was through her friendship with the poet’s sister, Lavinia, that Todd would eventually become the first editor of the poems. Todd’s own momentous correspondence with Emily Dickinson led to one of the most famous exchanges in American poetry—Todd’s gift of a painting of “Indian Pipes” (Montropa uniflora), which Dickinson acknowledged as her “preferred flower of life.” An illustration of this painting later adorned the cover of the collections of poetry and letters Todd saw into publication between 1890 and 1896.

Emily Dickinson's handwriting on a letter and envelope

Poetry Discussion Group Spring 2025 Series

Join us for a lively virtual discussion of Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters, meeting once a month from March to June. This program is designed to welcome newcomers and seasoned readers of Dickinson alike.

Each session is facilitated by a guest scholar with unique expertise, who leads the group in discussion following an introductory talk. Brief reading handouts will be distributed prior to each month’s program.

Topics and Leaders:

March: Possession and Dispossession: Jewels in Dickinson’s Poetry with Kylan Rice
Examining Dickinson’s treatment of gemstones, with respect to her attitudes toward race and class privilege

April: “Because I could not stop:” Courting Death in Apple TV’s Dickinson with Marianne Noble
Revisiting the poetry and plot of Apple TV+ first episode of Dickinson, with a focus on the oft-anthologized “Because I could not stop for Death”

May: “Sphere of simple Green -” with Renée Bergland
A discussion on Dickinson and natural science, drawing from her recent book, Natural Magic

June: “A formal feeling comes -“: Defining Nameless Feelings with Eliza Richards
A look at poems that explore feelings with no precise definition in English, such as “After great pain, a formal feeling comes”

Format

As a registrant, you are signing up to join a small group of 25 or fewer regular participants for four 90-minute Zoom sessions. Meetings are participatory, with video and audio encouraged. Because we want everyone to feel comfortable speaking, full sessions will not be recorded. The program is designed for adult audiences (18+).

Registration

We are offering an identical program for Wednesday and Friday groups. Please review the dates carefully — space is limited.
Refunds are not available for this program.

Wednesday Group, $100 program fee (inclusive of all sessions), limited to 25 participants: SOLD OUT
March 19, 6-7:30pm ET
April 23, 6-7:30pm ET
May 14, 6-7:30pm ET
June 11 6-7:30pm ET

Friday Group, $100 program fee (inclusive of all sessions), limited to 25 participants: SOLD OUT
March 21, 12-1:30pm ET
April 25, 12-1:30pm ET
May 16, 12-1:30pm ET
June, 13 12-1:30pm ET

For Educators:
Educators may request a certificate attesting to your participation in the program.

Reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Questions: Don’t hesitate to reach out to edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org with any questions about the program.

MARCH

Kylan Rice, PhD, is a scholar of nineteenth-century American poetry. His work on the subject has appeared in ELH, Arizona Quarterly, CR: The New Centennial Review, Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies, and Women’s Studies. He is the author of An Image Not a Book, a collection of poetry, and his creative writing has been published in numerous literary journals, including Colorado Review, Image, and West Branch.

APRIL

Marianne Noble’s teaching and research interests include American literature, intimacy and the emotions, and philosophical approaches to literature. She is the author of Rethinking Sympathy and Human Contact in Nineteenth-Century American Literature: Hawthorne, Douglass, Stowe, Dickinson (Cambridge UP 2019) and The Masochistic Pleasures of Sentimental Literature (Princeton UP 2000), which won a Choice Outstanding Book Award. She co-edited Emily Dickinson and Philosophy (Cambridge UP 2013). Recently, she has published articles on Dickinson, Hawthorne, phenomenology, and human contact. In 2016, she was a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea.

MAY

Renée Bergland is a literary critic and a historian of science who teaches in the Department of Humanities at Simmons University where she is Program Director of Literature and Writing. Her most recent publication is Natural Magic: Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, and the Dawn of Modern Science (Princeton University Press, 2024). She contributed an essay, “Dickinson Emergent: Natural Philosophy and the Postdisciplinary Manifold”, to the Oxford Handbook to Emily Dickinson (2022). Bergland is writing a forthcoming general audience book examining Dickinson’s poetry as interpreted through the lens of different sciences, including astronomy, geology, and ecology. She is a member of the board of the Emily Dickinson International Society.

JUNE

Eliza Richards is the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she teaches American literature with a specialization in American poetry before 1900. She is especially interested in the way historical events and changes in media networks shape and inform the way that people write poetry, as well as the ways poetry participates in cultural transformations. Her work broadens understanding and awareness of important nineteenth-century poetry written by women, African Americans, and popular writers. Her books include Battle Lines: Poetry and Mass Media in the US Civil War (U of Pennsylvania P, 2019) and Emily Dickinson in Context (edited collection; Cambridge UP, 2013), and she is currently working on The Collected Works of George Moses Horton: A Critical Edition.

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.

Looking for a more private experience? Check out our Studio Sessions program.

Current Sessions:

Tuesday, July 7, 5-7pm
Tuesday, August 11, 5-7pm
Tuesday, October 13, 5-7pm
Tuesday, November 17 5-7pm
Tuesday, December 15 5-7pm

Pricing: $75 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 outside of the restored rooms.
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.

a view of different items in the Emily Dickinson Museum's collections

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

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 her windows.

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. Sessions are offered on Thursdays and Fridays at 8:30am (1-2 hours) or 4:30pm (1 hour only) during the public tour season.

RESERVE YOUR SESSION: Mornings

RESERVE YOUR SESSION: Evenings

Pricing: (Looking for a more affordable option? Check out our Mild Nights program.)
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 Connect@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.

For studio sessions that occur during the Museum’s public tour season (March – December): Your purchase grants one free Museum admission per studio participant, to be booked during your visit to Amherst. To reserve your timed entry in advance, e-mail connect@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.

Press Release:
Carriage House Opening

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

Digital rendering of completed Evergreens Carriage House (edmsSTUDIO)

EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM OPENS NEWLY RECONSTRUCTED CARRIAGE HOUSE THAT ONCE STOOD ON THE HISTORIC PROPERTY

On Saturday, May 10, the Emily Dickinson Museum will celebrate the opening of the John and Elizabeth Armstrong Carriage House and the reopening of The Evergreens during its annual Poetry Walk event.

(AMHERST, Mass., April 3, 2025) – The Emily Dickinson Museum has completed the reconstruction of the carriage house that once stood to the east of The Evergreens, the home of Emily Dickinson’s brother Austin and his wife Susan. The carriage house will initially serve as a site for visitor welcome, orientation and museum shop, while also enabling the third and final phase of the Dickinson Homestead restoration.

The exterior appearance of the carriage house is as faithful as possible in its design to evidence accumulated from historic maps, lithographs, and photographs. The interior layout mimics that of the historic carriage house while optimizing modern 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. During the course of construction, museum staff discovered that the carriage house was most likely constructed at the same time as the Italianate portion of The Evergreens dwelling, built in 1856, rather than earlier as originally thought. 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. Wandering journalist Christopher Morley documented the structure in his 1936 travel memoir Streamlines. Details such as these gave the design team guidance about the exterior appearance and finishes.

Along with reconstructing the historical appearance of the carriage house, the Museum prioritized sustainability with the goal of achieving passive house certification from the Passive House Institute US. Architects Monica Del Rio Perez and Tim Widman of edmSTUDIOS collaborated on a design using construction techniques and materials that will result in significant energy savings and eliminate reliance on fossil fuels for heating and cooling. The Museum engaged Teagno Construction, Inc., who recently worked on the second phase of Homestead restoration, as general contractor for the project.

The carriage house reconstruction project was supported by a major pledge 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.”

Jane and Robert Keiter Family Executive Director Jane Wald says, “Opening the carriage house is a significant milestone in long-range goals for the Emily Dickinson Museum established more than twenty years ago. Much has happened between then and now thanks to the many supporters who have shared the Museum’s vision–and especially thanks to John and Elizabeth Armstrong who have been steadfast friends of the Museum since its establishment. By moving some functions into the carriage house, the Museum can more quickly complete the last phase of restoring Emily Dickinson’s Homestead so that her daily life and literary legacy can be more fully presented and appreciated in the place it was created. Moreover, we couldn’t be more pleased that this commitment to passive house construction and environmental responsibility reflects Dickinson’s regard for the natural world and the inspiration she drew from it.”

Erin Martin, Senior Director of Development says, “We are deeply grateful to the Armstrongs for their extraordinary generosity and leadership – which moved this project from the pages of our long-range plan and made it a reality. The carriage house is a testament to the Armstrong’s’ long partnership with the Emily Dickinson Museum and is their gift to the wide community of people both here and around the world who love the poet, and this place.

Closed since August due to carriage house construction, The Evergreens will reopen to the public on May 1st. The Emily Dickinson Museum used the period of closure as an opportunity to stabilize and conserve the first floor hallway wallpaper. This work was completed by Works on Paper, LLC. As of May 1st, tickets to the Emily Dickinson Museum will include tours of both the Homestead and The Evergreens.

On May 10, in honor of the 139th anniversary of the poet’s death, the Emily Dickinson Museum will host their annual Poetry Walk through downtown Amherst, the town Dickinson called “paradise.” This year’s Walk celebrates the opening of the newly reconstructed carriage house and the reopening of The Evergreens with stops that explore its significance to Amherst’s cultural landscape and to the poet herself. This is a free public program.

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.”

For press-approved images: https://bit.ly/Press-Carriage-House

To learn more about Poetry Walk: EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org/poetry-walk-2025

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.

a woman walks into the newly reconstructed carriage house

Press Release:
Carriage House Earns Passive House Certification

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

EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM EARNS PHIUS CERTIFICATION FOR RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED CARRIAGE HOUSE BUILDING

In collaboration with edmSTUDIO and Teagno Construction, inc., the Emily Dickinson Museum carriage house reconstruction has earned passive house certification. It is the first passive house historic reconstruction in the U.S.

(AMHERST, Mass., October, 9, 2025) – The Emily Dickinson Museum, edmSTUDIO, and Teagno Construction, Inc. have achieved passive house certification from PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) for the recently reconstructed carriage house building. The carriage house once stood to the east of The Evergreens, the home of Emily Dickinson’s brother Austin and his wife Susan. The exterior appearance of the carriage house is as faithful as possible in its design to evidence accumulated from historic maps, lithographs, and photographs. The interior layout mimics that of the historic carriage house while optimizing modern 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. During the course of construction, museum staff discovered that the carriage house was most likely constructed at the same time as the Italianate portion of The Evergreens dwelling, built in 1856, rather than earlier as originally thought. 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. Wandering journalist Christopher Morley documented the structure in his 1936 travel memoir Streamlines. Details such as these gave the design team guidance about the exterior appearance and finishes.

Phius Certified Projects have had their designs and energy models approved by the Phius

Certification Staff, and have been inspected on-site by certified third-party quality assurance professionals trained by Phius to work on Phius projects. The rigorous Phius certification process ensures the building is designed and built to perform up to the targets determined by the climate-specific, cost-optimized Phius Standard.

“Achieving Phius Certification for a project is an accomplishment worth celebrating as it is representative of the hard work of the project team and shows that this project will be among the most efficient and comfortable buildings in the world,” James Ortega, Phius Project Certification Manager.

Architects Monica Del Rio Perez and Tim Widman of edmSTUDIO collaborated on a design using construction techniques and materials that will result in significant energy savings and eliminate reliance on fossil fuels for heating and cooling. The Museum engaged Teagno Construction, Inc., who recently worked on the second phase of Homestead restoration, as general contractor for the project.

“The recreation of the Emily Dickinson Carriage House re-establishes the historic fabric of the site, enabling a more complete interpretation of the poet’s life and surroundings for the Museum. The project was an opportunity to create a dialogue between the past and the future via historical reference and developing building science focused on sustainability. As a hub for visitor engagement, the reconstructed Carriage House invites guests to draw inspiration from its lived literary legacy, architectural presence, and renewed purpose to educate in both fields,” Tim Widman, Principal at edmSTUDIOS.

“Having worked through a number of historic restoration projects for the Emily Dickinson Museum, it was an exciting new challenge to take on a Passive Build at this incredible property. We rarely get to work on projects that have such significance both historically, and from an energy efficiency perspective. Being included in this process has been an absolute honor, and we would like to say thank you to Jane Wald and her wonderful staff, the design team, our Phius consultants, subcontractors, and Amherst College. It truly was a fun project,” David Tynan, General Manager of Teagno Construction, Inc.

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

For press-approved images: https://bit.ly/Press-Carriage-House

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.

ABOUT PHIUS

Phius is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting comfortable living for all and the well-being of the planet. This means driving down carbon emissions and working toward a net zero future. Phius works toward this goal by training and certifying professionals, maintaining the Phius climate-specific passive building standard, certifying and quality assuring passive buildings, certifying high performance building products and conducting research to advance high-performance building.

Education school group in the Evergreens

K-12 Group Visits

Spark your students’ imaginations by visiting the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Plan a field trip to the place she called home in Amherst, MA, by signing up for The Power of Poetry, Seeing New Englandly, or This was a Poet tour — learn more below!

If you’d like to work with the Emily Dickinson Museum, but don’t see an opportunity that fits the age or needs of your students, please reach out to us at edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org. We’d love to connect with you!

Seeing New Englandly (Grades 3-5)

Dickinson’s keen observations of the natural world inspire this multisensory program. Students will learn about Dickinson’s lifelong engagement with nature, exploring poems alongside natural history objects that reveal her understanding of plant and animal adaptations. In the Dickinson Garden, they’ll collect sights, scents, and sounds to create their own found seasonal poems.

- 90-minute program.
- Available Tuesdays from 9:30 am-2pm and Thursday mornings

Book Seeing New Englandly

The Power of Poetry (Middle & High School)

Discover the ways that Dickinson embraced her unique personal vision, defying societal and literary convention to pen nearly 1800 revolutionary poems. In this participatory program, led by experienced educators, students will:

Tour the Homestead to learn about the poet’s early life, inspirations, and how she forged her own definition of poetry
Explore Dickinson’s writing process through a hands-on investigation of facsimile poem manuscripts
Write an original poem, reflecting on their own lives with a Dickinson-inspired prompt

90-minute program.
Available Tuesdays from 9:30am-2pm and Thursday morning.

Book Power of Poetry

Scholarships for The Power of Poetry (For MA Public Schools)

Thanks to a generous donation, we are offering a limited number of Massachusetts public schools reimbursements of up to $500 for transportation and admission fees, excluding a $120 fee to cover staffing and administrative costs. Scholarships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis–claim your scholarship by applying today!

Apply for a Power of Poetry scholarship

Power of Poetry Supports Massachusetts Grades 6-12 Anchor Standards

Power of Poetry Supports Massachusetts Grades 6-12 Anchor Standards for Reading; Writing; Speaking and Listening; and Language

READING
Key Ideas and Details
1. Read closely to determine what a text states explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from a text.

Craft and Structure
4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of a text relate to each other and the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.13

WRITING
Text Types and Sequences
3. Write narratives to develop experiences or events using effective literary techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured sequences.

Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING
Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

LANGUAGE
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

This Was a Poet (Middle & High School)

The Museum’s general audience tours are led by knowledgeable guides who introduce Dickinson’s journey as a poet, with an emphasis on sharing her poems and letters.

- 50-minute tour of the Homestead only.
- Available Thursday mornings.

Book This Was a Poet

General Booking Information:

Maximum group size: 36 (including adults). Groups larger than 12 will be divided and tour simultaneously.
Please book two weeks in advance. Following your request, the Museum will reach out to you to confirm the details of your visit and issue an invoice for a $120 deposit to secure your reservation.

Pricing:

$10 per student, one free adult per every 12 students.
$17 additional adult chaperones.
Groups of fewer than 12 will be charged a fee to meet a $120 minimum.
Amherst-Pelham public schools are free of charge.

Partnership Programs for K-12

If you’d like to work with the Emily Dickinson Museum, but don’t see an opportunity that would fit the age or needs of your students, please reach out to us at edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org. We’d love to connect with you! We can discuss:

How to tailor content or teaching methods to support your group
Experiential learning activities you’d like to develop or offer in collaboration with the Museum

IN-PERSON PROGRAM at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA

IN-PERSON PAINTING EXHIBITION On view Tuesday, November 10 through December 20

“That without suspecting it you should send me the preferred flower of life, seems almost supernatural.”

Topics and Leaders:

Format

Registration

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

IN-PERSON PROGRAM

Spark your students’ imaginations by visiting the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Seeing New Englandly (Grades 3-5)

The Power of Poetry (Middle & High School)

This Was a Poet (Middle & High School)

General Booking Information:

Partnership Programs for K-12

IN-PERSON PAINTING EXHIBITION
On view Tuesday, November 10 through December 20