A New Chapter Begins
RALPH WALDO EMERSON MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES EXPANDED LEADERSHIP AND 2026 OPENING DATE FOR THE EMERSON HOUSE
The Concord, MA home of Ralph Waldo Emerson will reopen for the visitor season on April 30, 2026 under expanded leadership.
Concord, MA – The Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association (RWEMA) announced expanded leadership and an April 30th opening for the Ralph Waldo Emerson House at its Annual Meeting on March 31, 2026.
One of America’s best-known thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) led a renaissance in American ideas and ideals in the 19th century, emphasizing the potential and worth of the individual and the interconnectedness of all life. His essays are considered foundational to American philosophy and literature; his poems—often reflecting his core transcendental beliefs and love of the natural world—influenced many other writers, including Walt Whitman, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and Louisa May Alcott.
The RWEMA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1930 to preserve the historic Concord home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and promote continuing interest in his life and works. As part of a broader restructuring, the RWEMA added two Emerson family members to the Board of Trustees. Holly Kohler and Jonathan Emerson Kohler will join Ellen Emerson and Bracken Hendricks as family Trustees, along with institutional representatives from the Concord Museum, Concord Free Public Library, and Houghton Library at Harvard University.
“The role of the RWEMA is to preserve the home and legacy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose ideas about the human experience and our relationship with the natural world are as important today as they were in the 19th century. The expanded leadership of the Association will allow us to pursue fundraising for new programming as well as critical renovation and restoration efforts for the Emerson House, including replacing the roof for the first time since 1872,” said RWEMA President Ellen Emerson, Emerson’s great-great granddaughter.
“It’s an honor to help preserve the heritage of Emerson’s home and of the uniquely American philosophy that was developed in the front parlor and over meals in the dining room, by Emerson and his many extraordinary friends and fellow thinkers. I believe Emerson’s values are as important now as at any time in American history. The next few years will set the course of Emerson’s home and all it stands for, and we’re enormously excited by the prospect of what’s to come,” said new trustee Jonathan Emerson Kohler.
The RWEMA announced the appointment of Michelle Purrington, formerly the head guide, as Director of Operations and Programming for the Emerson House, where she will oversee a reimagining of the guided tours provided to visitors.
“We eagerly look forward to opening Emerson House for the season and welcoming visitors from around the world. Our tours offer an immersive experience of the home Emerson lived in nearly all his adult life. In his day, he led and inspired social, literary, and environmental movements. Today, we hope visitors are similarly invigorated by his life, family, work, and ideas that continue to shape the American landscape and beyond,” said Purrington.
The Ralph Waldo Emerson House is open to visitors seasonally, from late April through October. This year it reopens on April 30th. The house is open for tours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are available on a walk-in basis. Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more. For more information, visit rwema.org.
