Stowe, Harriet Beecher, House
Why it's listed
Located at Gilbert and Foraker Avenues in Cincinnati, this two-story brick house with a gabled roof, a chimney at each end and a three-part front facade began as the residence of the president of Lane Seminary. Lyman Beecher moved into it after arriving in 1832, and his daughter Harriet lived there during much of her years in Cincinnati. Her first published work, a geography for children written with her sister Catherine, appeared in 1833. In the city she saw the effects of slavery, from the 1836 riots against James G. Birney's antislavery paper to a trip into Kentucky. Uncle Tom's Cabin was written later, in Maine. After Beecher left, the Rev. Joseph G. Monfort, an antislavery leader, lived there. A memorial association bought the house in 1943 and gave it to Ohio in 1945. Additions include a bay window, a Classic Revival porch and a rear wing. It now serves as a museum of Stowe's work and of African American history.
Significance in brief: The house was the Cincinnati home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who lived there with her father, Lyman Beecher, after he came to head Lane Seminary in 1832. The nomination ties her time in Cincinnati to her education about slavery and to her later authorship of Uncle Tom's Cabin. It also notes the later occupant, antislavery Presbyterian leader Rev. Joseph G. Monfort.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 70000497, listed November 10, 1970. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2950 Gilbert Ave., Cincinnati |
|---|---|
| County | Hamilton County |
| Listed | November 10, 1970 |
| Reference number | 70000497 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century; specific date early 1830's |
| Areas of significance | Literature, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Rated good condition and altered; structure strengthened and repaired by the Ohio Historical Society and open to the public as a museum. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 39.13317, -84.48735 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 70000497.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5664047
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.