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McGuffey Museum
McGuffey Museum has been a registered National Historic Landmark since 1966, honoring the significance of William Holmes McGuffey and the McGuffey Eclectic Readers. Professor McGuffey was professor of Ancient Languages and Moral Philosophy at Miami University, 1826-1836. Marrying Harriet Spining of Dayton in 1827, Professor McGuffey bought Outlot 9 and the small frame house upon it in 1828 and, by 1833, had completed the two-story brick house to replace the original dwelling. The present house is a vernacular adaption of the Federal style with later enlargements and redecoration. The front porch, elaborate front stairway and downstairs woodwork were probably added in the 1860s. The room now used to display Professor McGuffey's octagon table, lectern and traveling 3-part secretary/bookcase was a later addition.
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McGuffey Eclectic Readers
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Portraits of William Holmes McGuffey and his wife Harriet hang in the parlor, believed to have been painted about 1835 by Horace Harding. A collection of McGuffey Eclectic Readers is on display in the bookcases in the Library. A noted collection of children's books, including McGuffey Eclectic Readers, is housed in Special Collections, King Memorial Library, on the main campus of Miami University.
The First Eclectic Readers, published in 1836, started the series of books that was to education five generations of Americans by 1920. Still in print and still used today, the Readers have had numerous publishers and many revisions. They have, as a group, been the most widely published book in the United States excepting the Holy Bible.
Hours of Operation and Tour Information
McGuffey Museum, located on the corner of Oak and Spring Streets, is open Tuesday through Sunday, 1-5 p.m.. Tours can be arranged by calling (513) 529-8380.
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