FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nancy Grohol, Executive Director
Thoreau Farm Trust
978.369.3091
978.369.1515 (fax)
nancy at thoreaufarm.org

November 1, 2006

Concord, MA—The Thoreau Farm Trust announces the public phase of its capital campaign to raise $1 million to restore and rehabilitate the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau, prominent American writer, philosopher, and naturalist, in Concord, Massachusetts, and to use the property as an educational center and community resource.

Robert Pinsky, who served as U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997-2000, will serve as Honorary Chair of the campaign. Pinsky is a Professor of English at Boston University and the author of several acclaimed books of poetry, translation, and literary criticism. In addition, he wrote the introduction to the 2004 Princeton University Press edition of Thoreau’s Cape Cod.

“Henry David Thoreau remains enduringly central to our memory and imagination. His influence, which has extended to Gandhi and Tolstoy, is deeply related to his home ground,” observes Pinsky. “His home, and our ability to preserve it, epitomizes the notion of ‘heritage’ on a direct, sensible scale that is in the Thoreau spirit.”

The Thoreau birth house has both regional and national significance. Built ca. 1730, it is a traditional New England farmhouse that retains many of its early architectural features and sits on 20 acres of its original farmland, a unique combination representing the region’s colonial and agricultural heritage. The land surrounding the house has been cultivated for more than 300 years, earning it a place among America’s oldest farms.

The house also symbolizes America’s 19th-century literary and philosophical tradition through its bucolic setting and as the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau. Of all the literary talents of his time associated with Concord, Thoreau was the only one to have been born in the town. The natural beauty of his native Concord inspired Thoreau to embrace environmental preservation, and he is widely considered the father of our country’s modern-day environmental movement.

The Thoreau Farm Trust plans to use Thoreau’s birth house to bring his conservation legacy into the future by incorporating “green” building materials and sustainable energy
features into the restoration wherever possible while maintaining the historic integrity of the building. The fact that the environmentally friendly elements flow directly from the historic importance of the house creates a seamless connection between the past and the present, and offers a perfect opportunity to educate about the future. The Trust feels this approach is especially appropriate since these features will be part of the ethos of the property—the birthplace of this country’s first environmentalist.

Unfortunately, the birth house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, is in serious disrepair and continues to deteriorate. The Thoreau Farm Trust needs to raise nearly $1 million to complete the project. The Trust has received many significant gifts, including two $100,000 contributions, which have propelled the campaign toward its halfway mark. It hopes to raise the remainder from a public-private effort involving contributions from individuals, foundations, and businesses.

“The Trust has made significant progress toward our vision for Thoreau Farm, but we have still a long way to go,” said Lucille Stott, the Trust’s president. “We are encouraged by the great support we have received from local residents, businesses, and devotees of Thoreau and his educational and environmental work. But Thoreau’s influence reaches around the globe, and we know that as more people become aware of this wonderful house, its historic significance, and its possibilities for the future, they will join us in our efforts to save it.”

Caption for photo: Henry David Thoreau, American writer, philosopher, and naturalist, was born in this 18th-century farmhouse in Concord, Massachusetts. A campaign to preserve the house, which is in serious disrepair, is being conducted by the Thoreau Farm Trust and chaired by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. Photo: Nancy Grohol.

The Thoreau Farm Trust (www.thoreaufarm.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring and rehabilitating the Henry David Thoreau’s birthplace in Concord and using the site as an education and community center. If you are interested in touring the house, learning more about the organization, or how you can help, please contact Nancy Grohol at 978.369.3091 or nancy at thoreaufarm.org.