Emily Dickinson Museum

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The Emily Dickinson Museum is a historic house museum located in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. Two homes, the Homestead and the Evergreens, merged to form the Emily Dickinson Museum in 2003 under the ownership of Amherst College.

The Homestead was the birthplace of the poet Emily Dickinson and is where she spent much of her childhood and almost all her adult life. Just next door, The Evergreens was built by her brother Austin and is where he lived with his wife and three children during the poet's lifetime. In the small world made up of these two houses Dickinson wrote nearly 1,800 poems and a meaningful collection of letters. While few of her poems were published in her lifetime, her legacy of rich writing makes her one of America's best loved poets.

The Emily Dickinson Museum is dedicated to educating diverse audiences about Emily Dickinson’s life, family, creative work, times, and enduring relevance, and to preserving and interpreting the Homestead and The Evergreens as historical resources for the benefit of scholars and the general public.

The Museum is a member of Museums10, an association of ten noteworthy museums in Massachusetts' Pioneer Valley.

The Homestead

[edit] Hours and Visiting

Hours of Operation

MARCH
Wednesday and Saturday, 1-5 p.m.

APRIL – MAY
Wednesday through Saturday, 1-5 p.m.

JUNE – AUGUST
Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER
Wednesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

NOVEMBER – MID-DECEMBER
Wednesday and Saturday, 1-5 p.m.
Closed Wednesday before Thanksgiving

Admission Information

Admission to the Museum is by guided tour only. The last tour begins at 4:30 p.m. For the comfort of our visitors and the safety of our collections, tour size is limited. Groups of six or more should register two weeks in advance, keeping in mind that some tours fill up early.
All tours begin at the Tour Center, located in the Homestead. The Tour Center has a museum shop and an orientation exhibit, both of which may be visited at no charge. The shop is a wonderful place to peruse volumes of Dickinson's poetry and letters as well as biographies and other books about the poet and her world. Also on sale are postcards, note cards, bookmarks, magnets and other souvenirs.

Tours

Two tours are offered daily, “Emily Dickinson’s World” and “This Was a Poet.”

Emily Dickinson's World
(1 ½ hours)
Begins at 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m.

This tour includes both the Homestead where the poet lived and The Evergreens, home to Emily’s brother Austin, sister-in-law Susan and their three children. Focusing on Emily Dickinson's life and work, the tour shares insights into her private and public worlds.

The tour begins at the Homestead and includes a visit to the poet's bedroom. It continues outdoors to The Evergreens where, in addition to seeing the library, parlor, dining room and kitchen, visitors now have the opportunity to see the children's nursery, where Emily Dickinson's beloved nephews and niece grew up.

This Was a Poet
(40 minutes)
Begins at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

This tour introduces visitors to Dickinson and her poetry and is ideal for families with children and for visitors whose interest in Emily Dickinson is just beginning.

Visitors tour the Homestead, where the poet lived, to learn about her daily life and to experience the power of her poetry. In good weather, the tour concludes outside with a short poetry reading under the Homestead's oak tree.

Admission Rates

Emily Dickinson's World
Adult admission: $8.00
Senior Citizens/College Students: $7.00
Students ages 6-17: $5.00
The tour is not recommended for children under 6.

This was a Poet
Adult admission: $6.00
Senior Citizens/College Students: $5.00
Students ages 6-17: $3.00
No charge for children under 6.