We were delighted to welcome Friends of Stowe into the vault last week to view some of the amazing items in the Stowe Center archive.

Our archive is the home to the largest collection of materials related to Harriet Beecher Stowe—228,000 items—that illustrate the lives and times of Stowe and her family.

Cat White, our Director of Historic Collections, curated an extraordinary selection for our Friends to explore, including original manuscript pages of Uncle Tom’s Cabin; a volume of The Stafford House Address, a massive anti-slavery petition presented to Stowe on her tour of Great Britain; and the recently uncovered manuscript detailing the life of Rev. Dr. William H. Phillips, a formerly enslaved man who became a nationally respected minister in Philadelphia, among others. And these pieces sparked great conversation.

Research on the Phillips Manuscript continues, which has been detailed through articles on our blog and hybrid lectures by members of the Phillips Manuscript Advisory Committee. We look forward to sharing more updates as we prepare a digital humanities project to make this extraordinary piece of history accessible for all.

Thanks to the generosity of Friends of Stowe, our collection remains a powerful tool for teaching the lessons of history and inspiring the next generation of historians and literary activists.

Want to join the dedicated people who care about history, social justice, and positive change? Make a gift of any amount to become a Friend of Stowe and make a difference today.

Casey Grambo is the Director of Development at the Stowe Center for Literary Activism, where she works closely with supporters to advance the Center’s mission of social justice and literary activism. A fundraising professional, artist, producer, teacher, and activist, she brings more than a decade of experience in arts and nonprofit development to inspire engagement that fosters empathy, empowerment, and lasting change.