Emily Dickinson Museum moving forward with renovation plans

The project to restore the Emily Dickinson Museum and its grounds to their state in the mid-19th century when the poet lived there is expanding.

Amherst College, which owns the museum, says the renovations on The Homestead as the house is known, will be undertaken following the acquisition of a neighboring property that will be completed using a $300,000 National Endowment for the Humanities matching grant.

Executive Director Jane Wald tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette the museum's administrative offices, currently in The Homestead, will be moved to the new property, allowing the museum to expand interpretation of the poet's life by restoring spaces inside the Amherst home where Dickinson lived until her 1886 death.

Once the offices, administrative functions and storage are moved, the museum can prepare a design plan for The Homestead.