John Muir's Birthplace

John Muir's Birthplace at 126 High Street, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. It is operated by East Lothian Council Museums Service for the owner, the John Muir Birthplace Trust, a Scottish charity which was formed in 1998 through a collaboration between East Lothian Council, the John Muir Trust, Dunbar's John Muir Association, and Dunbar Community Council, in order to preserve John Muir's birthplace and to turn it into a centre for study and interpretation of his work. The project started in 2002, and the centre opened to the public in August 2003. In 2008 DJMA relaunched as the Friends of John Muir's Birthplace.

History

John Muir, the famous naturalist and preservationist was born there on April 21, 1838. In 1849, the family emigrated to the United States. Muir revisited Dunbar only once thereafter (in 1893) but kept in contact with relatives until his death in 1914. His connection with Dunbar was forgotton until the 1960s when American Muir enthusiasts began to turn up in Dunbar seeking their hero's roots. A small museum was created in the upper flat of the redevloped and restored building under a private/public partnership in 1980, opening in 1981. It was run by East Lothian Tourist Board until 1996, when it became the responsibility of the current operators.

Education

The Birthplace centre has developed a number of downloadable factsheets, e.g. "John Muir for young people", "John Muir's Childhood Home", John Muir's Schooldays" and many more.

Remembering John Muir

The John Muir Trust is a charity which aims to protect wild land and wildlife and administers the John Muir Award scheme.

The John Muir Way is a long distance footpath from Musselburgh to Dunglass.

The John Muir Country Park is situated in the Dunbar area.

In Martinez, California, United States is the John Muir National Historic Site, consisting mainly of John Muir's home.

John Muir Day is celebrated every year on April 21 in California.

External Links

* [http://www.jmbt.org.uk/content/ Official Website of John Muir's Birthplace]
* [http://www.eastlothianmuseums.org/content/ Website of East Lothian Museums Service]
* [http://www.muirbirthplacefriends.org.uk/site/ Website of the Friends of John Muir's Birthplace]
* [http://www.jmt.org/ Website of the John Muir Trust]
* [http://nps.gov/jomu/ Official Website of the John Muir Historic Site]
* [http://www.sierraclub.org Website of the Sierra Club]