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Stepping Stones is the historic home of
Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
co-founder Bill Wilson ( Bill W.) and his wife, co-founder of
Al-Anon/Alateen Al-Anon Family Groups, founded in 1951, is an international mutual aid organization for people who have been impacted by another person's alcoholism. In the organization's own words, Al-Anon is a "worldwide fellowship that offers a program of reco ...
Lois Wilson ( Lois W.), in Bedford Hills, New York. The historic site features their house (a
Dutch Colonial Revival Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...
structure from 1920); Bill W.'s writing studio, nicknamed "Wit's End"; approximately 15,000 objects (furniture, memorabilia, etc.) left by the Wilsons; a water pump house; the original one-car garage; a two-car garage and Welcome Center with an orientation display highlighting some of the 100,000 items in the Stepping Stones Archives; a flower garden; a community vegetable garden; and more. Lois left the property to The Stepping Stones Foundation - the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that she founded in 1979. Since Mrs. Wilson's death in 1988 the Stepping Stones Foundation has maintained and preserved the site with the help of friends, and has offered on-site tours by reservation and off-site educational programs. The house at 62 Oak Road,
Katonah, New York Katonah is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. The Katonah CDP had a population of 1,603 at the 2020 census. History Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, ...
is on the state and National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York. The ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' quoted a former executive director of the site: :We always say it’s not a successful tour unless at least one person cries.Alcoholics Anonymous Founder’s House Is a Self-Help Landmark
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, July 6, 2007.
In 2012 it was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
.


History

The Wilsons bought the house on 1.7 acres in 1941 more than five years after Bill W. took his last drink in December 1934. Lois Wilson later co-founded
Al-Anon Al-Anon Family Groups, founded in 1951, is an international Mutual aid society, mutual aid organization for people who have been impacted by another person's alcoholism. In the organization's own words, Al-Anon is a "worldwide fellowship that offe ...
there. The desk on which Bill wrote much of the book ''Alcoholics Anonymous'' (" The Big Book", the principal text of A.A.) resides at "Wit's End," the office retreat he built out of cinder block with a friend on the property. Bill, after moving to Stepping Stones, wrote correspondence, Grapevine magazine articles, speeches, and three more books at the desk: ''The 12 Steps and 12 Traditions'', ''As Bill Sees It'', and ''AA Comes of Age''. The kitchen table Bill mentions in several of his accounts of his meeting with Ebby Thacher at Bill's former home in 182 Clinton Street,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
is also on view. The memorabilia display created in the mid-1900s by Lois herself includes a letter from
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
to Bill Wilson, and a photograph of President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, receiving the millionth copy of the Big Book. Bill died in 1971 and Lois died in 1988. The Wilsons did not have children. Their property was turned over to the Stepping Stones Foundation which maintains it and conducts the tours and presentations. In 2007,
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYS OPRHP) is a state agency within the New York State Executive Department Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 3.03. "The office of parks, recreation and h ...
, added Stepping Stones to its new Women's Heritage Trail, in recognition of Lois. Every June (on the first Saturday), as per a tradition started by the Wilsons in 1952, hundreds of A.A. and Al-Anon members arrive for the Annual Stepping Stones Lois Family Groups Picnic, which is still a free event but requires tickets.


See also

*
List of National Historic Landmarks in New York This is a list of National Historic Landmarks and comparable other historic sites designated by the U.S. government in the U.S. state of New York. The United States National Historic Landmark (NHL) program operates under the auspices of the Na ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York, excluding the city of Peekskill, which has its own list. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and distric ...
* Dr. Robert Smith House,
Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...
* Bill Wilson House, East Dorset, Vermont


References


External links


Steppingstones.org
{{Authority control 1920 establishments in New York (state) Alcoholics Anonymous Biographical museums in New York (state) Colonial Revival architecture in New York (state) Dutch Colonial Revival architecture in the United States Historic house museums in Westchester County, New York Houses completed in 1920 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Historic Landmarks in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Westchester County, New York New York State Register of Historic Places in Westchester County Twelve-step programs