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Ivy Green
Birthplace of Helen Keller
Description
Listed among the National Register of
Historic Places, Ivy Green is located on a 640-acrea tract in historic Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Ivy Green was built in 1820 by David and Mary Farifax Moore Keller, grandparents of Helen
Keller. The main house is of Virginia cottage construction, with four large rooms on the
first floor bisected by a wide hall. Each room has its own fireplace. The upstairs is
three rooms connected by a hall. The old "whistle path" carries visitors to the
outdoor kitchen from the main home. Sprinkled around the estate are the Lion's Club's
International Memorial Foundation, the "Clearing" and herb gardens, the Carriage
House and Gift Shop.
Helen Keller's birthplace cottage is situated east of the main house and consists of a
large room with a lovely bay window and playroom. Originally, the small "annex"
was an office for keeping the plantation books.
When Captain Arthur H. Keller brought his bride, Kate Adams (the bride of his second
marriage), home to Ivy Green, the office was re-furnished and fitted for them as a bridal
suite. Later, the cottage served as living quarters for Helen and her teacher, Anne
Sullivan. The homes and museum rooms are decorated with much of the original furniture of
the Keller family. Each is highlighted by hundreds of Helen Keller's personal mementos,
books and gifts from her lifetime of travel. She lectured in 25 countries for the
betterment of the world's blind and deaf-blind. Her complete library of Braille books and
her original Braille typewriter are on display at Ivy Green.
The actual well-pump, where Helen achieved the first step toward communication by making a
mental connection between the word "water," as it was spelled in her hand by
Anne Sullivan, and the actual substance, remains in its original location between the main
house and the birthplace cottage. The estate is cooled by the shade of 150-year-old
English boxwood, magnolia, mimosa, and other trees, and accented by roses, honeysuckle,
smilax and an abundance of English Ivy (for which the estate receives its name). |
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