Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

Practically across the street from the home of her mentor and friend Mark Twain [1], Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in this Victorian “cottage” (77 Forest St., 860/522-9258, www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org [2], 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., noon–4:30 p.m. Sun., plus 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Tue. June–mid-Oct.; closed Mon., $8 adults, $7 seniors, $4 children 5–12, free children under 5) from 1873 until 1891, the year of her death.

Befitting the author’s passion for social justice, her home has now been turned into a museum of social change, with as much emphasis on the great political movements of the 19th century—emancipation and women’s rights—as on her biography. The center was started by Stowe’s niece, Katharine S. Day, who bought a more luxuriously appointed home that is also open for tours.