Did you say Clara barton?

  Alright then everyone I am back with another blog! This one is a bit early and short because I had an exciting weekend and I just had to tell you all! I had the opportunity to visit with some family.  My cousin was a trooper and drove down to get me so major props to him. I haven’t seen any of them in a very long time so I went to Massachusetts for some quality bonding time.  While I went there for family fun I also did some unintentional work because my cousin mentioned something offhand to me. As we were driving around admiring some beautiful New England fall foliage (it really is something quite spectacular to see) we stopped  to get some gas.  I had asked what there was in the area  to do  besides admire the leaves and he mentioned an old house related to Clara Barton.  I immediately got excited and asked if he was serious.  I  mean how many Clara Barton’s can there be? He said it was an old house not too far from our location so I said we had to go see it.  I told him if this was what I thought it could be than it would be great because we have a whole exhibit here at the museum about Clara Barton plus our newest satellite museum in D.C., the Clara Barton Missing Soldier’s Office museum.  Everyone at work would be interested to hear about this.

                While we drove there we passed the most beautiful little stream with a stone bridge that we stopped at for more pictures.  Massachusetts really is jaw-droppingly beautiful in the fall and I absolutely recommend visiting if  you can.  We found Clara Barton Road (what else could you name the street she was born on?) and passed many houses before we got to the very end of the street past a Diabetes care center also named after her.  This was the Clara Barton birthplace.  The house is a lovely two story building next to a carriage house.  It has white paint and green trim with a green door with a knocker.  It sits on the corner and has a large sign to mark the significance of that building.  I stood there for a few minutes in awe of  the building   Clara Barton, one of the most famous women of the Civil War, had been born and lived here a period of time. 

The front of her home.  Just visible is the name of the street, Clara Barton Road.

                Clara Barton, if you don’t know already, was nicknamed the Angel of the Battlefield due to her services as a nurse during the Civil War.  She was at some of the most well known battles including Antietam where she was famously shot through the sleeve while nursing a dying soldier (the bullet that missed her killed him).  She collected food and bandages as well as donated her own money to help supply the soldiers and often brought them sweets.  After the war ended in 1865, she opened the Missing Soldiers Office in Washington, D.C. where for three years she helped families identify and/or locate their loved ones.  Many soldiers went missing or lost contact with family and she helped families find the bodies so that many received the comfort of knowing what happened to them or could secure pensions.  Her office eventually found over 22,000 soldiers in three years.  Eventually she founded the American Red Cross which still works actively to this day bringing aid to everyone.  One heck of a person if you ask me.

                I know that the house didn’t do anything special and that it was what she eventually became that was so special about her but it was still very cool of my cousin to show me this house.  We came late in the day so it was closed to visitors but I might just try to go back someday when it is open.  Maybe I can talk to them about all the stuff we have here at the museum like her trunk bed, her Missing Soldiers Office sign or other items.  I would love to get a tour of her childhood home since I imagine the inside is as nice as the outside. 

The sign so there can't be any mistaking where I was.

                I didn’t plan to see anything work related this past weekend but to see Clara Barton’s birthplace home…well, it definitely was a big part of why I enjoyed that day so much. 

Enjoy this beautiful picture as well.