Ivy Green: The birthplace of Helen Keller

It’s still referred to as the "miracle."

The miracle took place on the grounds of Ivy Green, the childhood home of Helen Keller in Tuscumbia. That’s where Helen, who was left totally deaf and blind as the result of a rare childhood disease, learned to communicate with her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

The simple black well pump that was the focal point of Keller’s newfound method of communication is still on display at Ivy Green. The pump is one of the most recognizable figures of the miracle, which forever changed the way people with similar handicaps function. Keller went on to become one of the most remarkable women in American history.
The home at Ivy Green is a white clapboard house surrounded by 150-year-old trees and English Ivy. The house was built on a 640-acre tract by Keller’s grandparents, David and Mary Fairfax Moore Keller in 1820. Helen was 7 years old in the spring of 1887 when the miracle happened on the grounds.

Sullivan was brought in by Helen’s parents to help control the often wild and uncontrollable child. At the pump, Sullivan was steadily pumping cool water into one of Keller’s hands and repeatedly tapping out an alphabet code of five letters in the other hand – first slowly, then rapidly. Sullivan was persistent and suddenly something clicked. Sullivan’s signals finally had meaning for Helen. She suddenly knew that w-a-t-e-r was that cool something that continued to flow over her hand. By nightfall, Helen had learned 30 words. Within six months, she knew more than 600 words.


















Ivy Green is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a popular stop for tourists who come to northwest Alabama from all over the country and abroad. You can tour the grounds at Ivy Green and see personal mementos and gifts Helen received from her lectures in 25 countries. Also on display in the museum at Ivy Green are some of Helen’s original Braille books and typewriter. The home is open throughout the year, with the exception of most holidays.