The first Ohio Bicentennial Commission historical marker commemorating an Ohio literary site will be dedicated at 10 a.m. today at the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Walnut Hills.

        The ceremony will mark the 150th anniversary of publication of her influential Uncle Tom's Cabin, which she wrote with inspiration from scenes in the Cincinnati area.

The Harriet Beecher Stowe House is the first Ohio literary site to receive a historical marker. (Enquirer file photo) | ZOOM |

        The two-floor house, at 2950 Gilbert Ave., was Mrs. Stowe's home until about 1850, after she had moved from Connecticut to Cincinnati in 1832 with her father, the Rev. Lyman Beecher, and her sister, Catharine.

        “She married Calvin Stowe in Cincinnati in 1836,” said Emma Cox, director of the Stowe House. “They lived somewhere near the Lane Theological Seminary, where Mr. Lane taught. Later on, she moved into this house.”

        While living in Cincinnati, Mrs. Stowe read an abolitionist pamphlet by Professor Theodore Weld, a faculty member at Lane. It influenced her anti-slavery views and encouraged her to write her book, which borrowed some real-life drama from escaped slave Eliza Harris crossing the frozen Ohio River with her child.

        Accompanied by a fellow teacher, Mrs. Stowe took a boat down the river and saw a slave auction, slave quarters and slaves working. Those scenes would help her write the book.

        “The novel has been called "probably the most influential work of fiction in American history,' as it almost single-handedly popularized the anti-slavery movement,” said Leslie Walker of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission.

        Later, Mrs. Stowe returned to Connecticut, and died there in 1896. During her career she wrote more than 30 books.

        Her Cincinnati house was restored in 1977.

        At today's dedication, Albert Pyle of the Mercantile Library and Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, editor of the Cincinnati Herald, will speak about Mrs. Stowe's contributions. Students from the School of Creative and Performing Arts will present dramatic readings of parts of Uncle Tom's Cabin.

        Seedlings from a 100-year-old tree on the grounds of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Connecticut will be planted during the ceremony.

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