Mabel Loomis Todd’s Amherst – Trolley Tour

Join us on April 29th to experience Mabel Loomis Todd’s Amherst—from her earliest residence at the Amherst House hotel to her final resting place in Wildwood Cemetery. This extended tour given from Mrs. Todd’s perspective will be narrated by Dr. Julie Dobrow as we travel on the BID trolley with stops at the Homestead and Evergreens, the Observatory, and Wildwood Cemetery. Be prepared to learn about the artistic and literary achievements that made Mabel extraordinary in her own day, and a fascinating person to study today.

Dr. Dobrow’s presentation will draw on her extensive research for “Outside Emily’s Door: Mabel Loomis Todd, Millicent Todd Bingham and the Making of America’s Greatest Poet”, her mother/daughter biography being published by WW Norton and Company. Her narrative will be enhanced by period maps and photographs leading us to the homes and haunts of Mrs. Todd. When David Peck Todd was appointed astronomy professor at Amherst College, his alma mater, and the Todds arrived in Amherst, Mabel was anything but an ordinary professor’s wife. Witty, artistic, and charming, she left her mark on Amherst, her home for almost forty years.

While today Mabel is best known for her complicated relationships with the Dickinson family — her pivotal role in getting Emily Dickinson’s poetry published and her long-term affair with Austin Dickinson — she had a multi-faceted life in Amherst and beyond. Mabel’s Amherst legacy lives today in the civic organizations she founded—the Mary Mattoon Chapter of the D.A.R., the Amherst Woman’s Club, and the Amherst Historical Society.

The four hour tour will be offered twice on April 29th—at 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (registration for the 2:30 tour is closed). General tickets are $65. With a $100 benefactor ticket, you receive first choice of seats on the trolley and a copy of Mabel Loomis Todd: Her Contributions to the Town of Amherst by Millicent Todd Bingham. We will furnish beverages. Boxed meals may be purchased for $15.00 or you may bring your own. This tour requires physical ability to get on and off the trolley, navigate steps and to walk several hundred yard distances over rough ground. Funds raised from these tours will support the mission of the Amherst Historical Society.

Tour participants will also enjoy a preview of our new exhibit, The Spectacular Mabel Loomis Todd, which delves into Mabel’s artistic, scientific, literary and civic accomplishments. The exhibit opens officially on May 4. We hope you can join us to celebrate the life of one of Amherst’s most spirited residents.

Though much of Julie Dobrow’s research and writing has focused around issues of children and media, for the past several years most of her efforts have been focused around researching the fascinating lives of Mabel Loomis Todd and Millicent Todd Bingham. She teaches in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, and in the Environmental Studies and Film and Media Studies Programs at Tufts University. She is a Senior Fellow at the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts, and also serves as the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies. Dobrow graduated from Smith College with an AB in anthropology and sociology, and received her MA and Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

We will be running two tours on Saturday, April 29:
Tour 1: 10 am. to 2 pm. [limited to 22 seats]
Tour 2: 2:30 to 6:30 pm. [registration closed for this tour]

Tickets:
$65.00 General
$100.00 Benefactor  This option includes recognition in the program, preferred choice of seat on the trolley, and a copy of “Mabel Loomis Todd, Her Contributions to the Town of Amherst” by Millicent Todd Bingham.

Beverages will be provided.

A boxed meal can be purchased from for $15.00, please mark vegetarian if required, or you may bring your own.

This tour requires physical ability to get on and off the trolley, navigate steps and to walk several hundred yard distances over rough ground.

Purchase tickets securely online with your credit card. Or, you can download this form and mail or deliver your check by April 20 to The Amherst Historical Society, 67 Amity St., Amherst, MA 01002. Questions? Please call us at 413-256-0678 or email info@amhersthistory.org.