Inside Henry David Thoreau's House

There is a nice difference between a winter photo and a June photo. Please see my previous post, Some of Henry David Thoreau's Houses, written in January. I had mentioned 7 months ago, that I would be returning, and I did twice, most recently was today. This post will show part of the interior, and the location where he was really born.

Wonderful docent walking by the organic garden to greet us. She gave us a 90 minute tour. Most of the house is used for office space, but two rooms are shown to the public. The first floor room is usually used for lectures, and there is no original furniture in the house. The second room upstairs was where Henry David Thoreau was born. There were a few period pieces, and photos of the family.

Because the vegetable garden was growing like weeds, we were offered free rhubarb, lettuce and onions...we took a head of yummy lettuce.

Great wall hanging, showing photos of the parents, and four siblings. Henry is the third from the left.

 Original floors in the bedroom.

Looking out the window of the bedroom where he was born. However, this isn't the view they would have seen, since the house was originally down the street and was moved later to this site. The house had several additions through the years, but the upper right side room is original, and that is where he was born.

Facebook page site for
Thoreau Farm - Birthplace of Henry David Thoreau

Additional Photos taken July 22, 2014, and a real surprise. See last photo.

Side garden, and of course nasturtiums (among my favorite flowers).

I was aware that the house was moved to the above location, so I went looking for the original site, and I found this marker below. I'll be going back again, just to show my husband.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

was born on this site,

his maternal grandmother's farm,

July 12, 1817.

Bigelow Free Public Library, Clinton, Massachusetts -- Genealogy Collection

I loved the original reference desk. Actually, I think everything in the Bigelow Free Public Library was original, some features charming, others quite dated. They are lacking in space, and as a result, there is no genealogy room. The only things available to genealogists are the microfilm reader (below) and some very old rolls of film. They also offer on their computers subscriber databases such as Ancestry and Heritage Quest. There are some genealogy / local history books in their closed stack area, but I wasn't allowed to go there (that area is behind the reference desk, shown above).

Microfilm reader, printer and file cabinet with newspaper film. This is in the main reading room.

Children's room, on an upper floor.

Library on a busy corner, hidden by the huge tree. I was told that the old Clinton Historical Society was next door, so I walked over...what a beautiful building. Unfortunately, they weren't open, but I'll be back.