Danby in Rutland County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)
Pearl S. Buck
June 26, 1892 - March 6, 1973
Photographed by Dennis Gilkenson, June 24, 2016
1. Pearl S. Buck Marker
Mother, wife, writer, humanitarian, and civil rights activist, Pearl Buck was the first American woman to receive the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for literature. A visionary, she worked to cross political and cultural barriers to further understanding among all peoples of the world. Her own perspective was fostered by a life lived equally in China and America and by extensive world travels. She established Welcome House, the first adoption agency specializing in multi-racial adoptions, and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to aid thousands of children fathered by American servicemen overseas. In 1950 she purchased property in Winhall, VT, and in 1969 moved to Danby, finding an American town she loved, helped restore, and where she died in 1973.
Erected 2000 by Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Charity & Public Work • Women. In addition, it is included in the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation Markers series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 26, 1892.
Location. 43° 20.784′ N, 72° 59.776′ W.
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Vermont’s Green Mountains. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Vermont Republic.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Birthplace of William Griffith Wilson (approx. 7.4 miles away); Fenton Pottery Site (approx. 7½ miles away); Rural Otter Creek Valley Multiple Resource Area (approx. 7.8 miles away); Harmon's Mint (approx. 7.9 miles away); The Dorset Field Club (approx. 8.1 miles away); Dorset (approx. 8.2 miles away); Old Stone Shop (approx. 8½ miles away); Wallingford Revolutionary War Memorial (approx. 8½ miles away).
Photographed by Kevin Craft, August 27, 2016
2. Wideview of Pearl S. Buck Marker
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, December 12, 2017
3. Pearl S. Buck
This 1938 portrait of Peal S. Buck (1892-1973) by Samuel Johnson Woolf hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.
“Raised in China, where her parents were missionaries, author Pearl S. Buck made it her life's work to foster understanding between East and West. While teaching English literature at the University of Nanking, she began writing fiction inspired by her observations of Chinese peasant life. Her second novel, The Good Earth, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932; five years later she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. After returning to the United States in 1934, Buck continued to write affectionately of the Chinese people, but her criticisms of communism cost her the opportunity to revisit the country in the 1970s. While raising a large family of adopted and foster children, Buck established organizations to improve the lives of Asian and mixed-race children. She was a cofounder of Welcome House, the first international, interracial adoption agency.” – National Portrait Gallery
“Raised in China, where her parents were missionaries, author Pearl S. Buck made it her life's work to foster understanding between East and West. While teaching English literature at the University of Nanking, she began writing fiction inspired by her observations of Chinese peasant life. Her second novel, The Good Earth, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932; five years later she became the first American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in literature. After returning to the United States in 1934, Buck continued to write affectionately of the Chinese people, but her criticisms of communism cost her the opportunity to revisit the country in the 1970s. While raising a large family of adopted and foster children, Buck established organizations to improve the lives of Asian and mixed-race children. She was a cofounder of Welcome House, the first international, interracial adoption agency.” – National Portrait Gallery
Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 27, 2016, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. This page has been viewed 2,352 times since then and 102 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 27, 2016, by Dennis Gilkenson of Saxtons River, Vermont. 2. submitted on August 29, 2016, by Kevin Craft of Bedford, Quebec. 3. submitted on February 12, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
