by The Amelia Earhart Birthplace home in Atchison, Kansas, isn’t the most exciting home we’ve ever visited, but it was an interesting place to learn about Amelia Earhart, in conjunction with our visit to the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum.
The house was built in 1861 by Amelia’s grandparents, Alfred and Amelia Otis. Amelia was born in the home in 1897, and lived there off and on until she was twelve years old. She considered this her childhood home, and Atchison her hometown.
Amelia and her younger sister Muriel were raised conventionally by her grandparents, and less conventionally by her parents.
Their grandmother lamented their tomboyish dress and activities, but their parents encouraged them to be free spirits and thinkers.
Young Amelia kept a scrapbook of newspaper articles on successful women in male-dominated careers.
Amelia graduated from high school and had some subsequent schooling, but was unable to continue primarily due to financial reasons. She bounced around a bit before she found her calling, and that story is continued in our related post.
The Amelia Earhart Birthplace home was sold out of Amelia’s family in 1918, and remained a private residence by various families until 1984. It’s no surprise, then, that most of the items in the house are “of the period” and not originals, though there are a few pieces that belonged to the family.
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