Maysville Kentucky Blog: Black History Month: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) was one of the most influential books of its time and was the first major American novel to have an African-American as its hero. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the novel became a best seller in 1852 and created a surge in anti-slavery sentiment. According to the Washington Kentucky web site, President Lincoln once met the author and remarked, "So this is the little lady who started the big war."

When Harriet Beecher Stowe was a young teacher in Cincinnati, Colonel Marshall Key of Washington Kentucky sent his daughter to study at her school. In 1833 Miss Beecher went to visit the Key family at their home in Old Washington. It was there that one day Mr. Key invited Harriet to visit the nearby slave auction at the Washington Courthouse.

According to the Washington Kentucky web site, "She was much distressed and this vivid scene so impressed Harriet Beecher that she never forgot it, and twenty-odd years later she wrote her book, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' She received the inspiration for her characters, 'Uncle Tom' and a 'Topsy,' on this visit. Topsy's real name was Jane who later married Isham Anderson. Aunt Jane and Uncle Isham lived in a little frame house on the corner of William and Green here in Washington."

Today, the Marshall Key House is the Harriet Beecher Stowe, Slavery to Freedom Museum, open all Festivals and most Saturdays 12-4, Sundays 1-4.