Historian and Preservationist. Born to Boston Brahmin parents, Sears early in her life showed an intellectual and artisitic curiosity that would lead her to write several books on early New England history and art, most especially the history of the Shakers and the Transcendentalists. In 1910, she built a home on Prospect Hill in Harvard, Mass., and was fascinated to learn the property had once hosted Bronson Alcott's Transcendentalist utopian community Fruitlands. By 1914 she had established one of America's first outdoor museums, Fruitlands, themed to the Transcendalists. She was later invited by the last surviving Shakers to help preserve the history of their sect and added the first-in the-nation Shaker museum to the Fruitlands site. Subsequent additions included a Native American museum and an art museum devoted to the Hudson River school of artists.
Historian and Preservationist. Born to Boston Brahmin parents, Sears early in her life showed an intellectual and artisitic curiosity that would lead her to write several books on early New England history and art, most especially the history of the Shakers and the Transcendentalists. In 1910, she built a home on Prospect Hill in Harvard, Mass., and was fascinated to learn the property had once hosted Bronson Alcott's Transcendentalist utopian community Fruitlands. By 1914 she had established one of America's first outdoor museums, Fruitlands, themed to the Transcendalists. She was later invited by the last surviving Shakers to help preserve the history of their sect and added the first-in the-nation Shaker museum to the Fruitlands site. Subsequent additions included a Native American museum and an art museum devoted to the Hudson River school of artists.
Bio by: Bob on Gallows Hill
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