Bess Streeter Aldrich House And Museum

Mission:

To Preserve & Promote the Life, Works & Home of Bess Streeter Aldrich

About Us:

Bess Streeter Aldrich was one of Nebraska's finest writers. She recreated in her short stories and novels the ups and downs of small town living in hopes that her readers would understand the hardships and struggles of the times, but also see the virtues and hopes that became a part of these prairie times in the Midwest.

Bessie Genevra Streeter was born Feb. 17, 1881 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. She attended Iowa State Normal School (now the University of Northern Iowa) and became a school teacher. In 1907 she married Captain Charles S. Aldrich, a lawyer who served as the U.S. Commissioner to Alaska before opening a practice in Tipton, IA. “Cap” (as he was called) and John Cobb, who was married to Bess’s sister Clara, purchased the American Exchange Bank of Elmwood in 1909. The Aldrich and Cobb families, with Bess’s mother, moved to Elmwood that year.

Bess earned her first real money for writing in 1911 when she entered a short story contest. Her first novel, Mother Mason, was published in 1924.

Cap and Bess had four children, Mary, James, Charles and Robert. They built this home, which Bess called “The Elms”, in 1922 for just $7,000! It had electricity and two indoor bathrooms, which was quite unusual for the time. In May 1925, Cap died suddenly, leaving Bess a widow. She began writing in earnest to support her family, and put all four children through college with the money she earned for her stories and novels. Bess wrote nine novels and over 160 short stories, which were published in the most popular magazines of the time. Her works have been translated into Braille and many languages. Her best-known novel is A Lantern in Her Hand, the story of pioneers who settled in this part of Nebraska. Miss Bishop was made into the motion picture “Cheers for Miss Bishop” in 1941. Aldrich won the O. Henry award for her short story “The Man Who Caught the Weather.”

In 1946, Bess moved to Lincoln to be near her daughter Mary. She died in 1954 at age 73, and was buried beside Cap in the Elmwood cemetery.

Bess Streeter Aldrich was posthumously inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame in 1973. Her works are still in print today, fulfilling her desire that future generations understand the joys, struggles and strengths that were all a part of pioneering in the Midwest.