{"nrhp_refnum":"66000363","name":"Dickinson, Emily, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"280 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amherst","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.37624012750007,"lon":-72.51391271747866,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1962-12-29","areas_of_significance":["Literature"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story brick Federal style house at 280 Main Street, Amherst, Massachusetts, built in 1813 for Samuel Fowler Dickinson and enlarged in 1855 by Edward Dickinson. It stands on a 1.57-acre lot.","why_significant":"It was the birthplace of poet Emily Dickinson and her home from 1855 until her death in 1886. She wrote hundreds of poems here, only seven of which were published in her lifetime, and she is now recognized as a major figure in American literature.","narrative":"This brick house at 280 Main Street in Amherst, Massachusetts, was the birthplace of poet Emily Dickinson and her home from 1855 until her death in 1886. Samuel Fowler Dickinson, the poet's grandfather, built the Federal style house in 1813. It was sold in 1833, and her father, Edward Dickinson, repurchased and enlarged it in 1855, adding a cupola, a broad cornice, a porch and an eastern wing. The Parke family altered it after 1915. Amherst College bought it in 1964, and it serves as a faculty residence. Dickinson wrote hundreds of brief lyrics in the house, but only seven are known to have appeared in print during her lifetime. Her work was edited and published after her death in 1886, and critical appreciation has grown steadily since. Her restored second-floor bedroom is open to the public by appointment, and work was under way to restore her flower garden.","period_of_significance":"1813; 1855-1886","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by Amherst College and used as a faculty residence, with the poet's bedroom open to the public by appointment; described as well maintained and in good condition, with the flower garden being restored.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 01:58:45.288417-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/7937/63793717/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/66000363_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000363/3219942a09-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000363/3219942a09-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emily_Dickinson_Museum,_Amherst,_MA_-_front.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emily_Dickinson_Museum,_Amherst,_MA_-_front.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"77000182","name":"Dickinson Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/dickinson-historic-district-77000182/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793717","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5372143"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/dickinson-emily-house-66000363/"}