Ellen Tucker Emerson and Edith Emerson Forbes’ lives are often treated as a footnote to their famous father, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Kate Culkin’s recent dual biography, Emerson’s Daughters: Ellen Tucker Emerson, Edith Emerson Forbes, and Their Family Legacy (University of Massachusetts Press, 2025) brings these women’s stories to the fore, inviting interest in Ellen and Edith for their own sakes. Join Culkin at the Emerson House on Sunday, September 28, 2025 for an author’s tour of the special exhibition celebrating the sisters’ lives.

When the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association (RWEMA) took ownership of the Emerson House in 1930 and turned it into a seasonal museum, the original contents of Emerson’s study were moved across the street to a replica in the Concord Museum to preserve year-round access for visitors. Today, both can be visited. In 2020, the Concord Museum produced a short video tour of Emerson’s home study, discussing its importance both to Emerson and as the intellectual center of mid-19th century America.

Welcoming visitors back to the Emerson House for the 2022 season with a look back at the museum’s 92-year history and some memorable Emersonian events over the years.

A virtual tour of the historic barn behind the Emersons’ Concord home with architectural historian, Anne Forbes; Concord Museum Curator, David Wood; and Bay Emerson Bancroft of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association. Created in partnership with the Concord Museum.