Betsy’s House

333 Center Street • Mankato, Minnesota

The Hart family lived in this house from 1892 to 1906. It was here that Maud met her best friend, Bick Kenney, who moved into the house across the street in 1898.

Betsy’s House is furnished as a museum to look just as it did when the Hart family lived here. Visitors entering this house will feel as if they’ve stepped into the pages of the Betsy-Tacy books. You can see the actual kitchen where Betsy, Tacy and Tib made “Everything Pudding” and look out the window where Betsy watched the Kelly family move in across the street!

Some Lovelace artifacts on display are Thomas Hart’s rocking chair and footstool, a corner cupboard, and a drop-leaf table from Maud and Delos’s (Betsy and Joe’s) New York apartment.

Be sure to check out the personally inscribed pavers embedded in the walkway at Betsy’s House. The paver project began as a fundraiser to support the ongoing restoration and maintenance of this beloved literary landmark, but it evolved into a tangible way to commemorate and honor the community of fans who love these books.

In 2010, the childhood homes of Maud Hart Lovelace and Frances Kenney were designated National Literary Landmarks by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations, a division of the American Library Association.