. . . best of all he loved the fall. . .
Ernest Hemingway held an abiding affection for central Idaho from his first visit to Sun Valley in 1939 until his death in his final home along the Big Wood River in 1961. The Community Library has a robust collection of artifacts and materials from Hemingway’s time in Idaho, and the Library is the custodian of his final home.
Hemingway Collections
Hemingway House Online Collection
The database for the Ernest and Mary Hemingway House and Preserve Collection is now available to the public. You can search or browse to see artifacts that belong to the house. To look through the online collection click here.
Wood River Museum Hemingway Exhibit
Visit the Hemingway exhibit, “A Writer in New Country: Hemingway in 1939”, at the Wood River Museum of History and Culture to see fascinating artifacts and learn what drew this writer at his peak to a remote town in Idaho.
Digital Photo Collection
Peruse digitized historic photos from the Hemingway House and from the archive.
Hemingway Tours
Virtual Tour of Hemingway’s Idaho Home
Take a virtual tour through Ernest Hemingway’s final home in Ketchum, Idaho. Though closed to public visitation, this tour with Idaho Public Television shows the house in intimate detail for viewing at home.
Audio Walking Tour
Visit classic Hemingway haunts around Ketchum and Sun Valley on this fantastic audio walking tour narrated by Ernest’s granddaughter Mariel Hemingway.
A Guide to Ernest Hemingway in Idaho
Download a brochure including a map of Hemingway sites, QR codes to virtual experiences, and a list of recommended reading on Hemingway in Idaho.
Videos on Hemingway
Remembering Hemingway: Interviews with Hemingway’s Friends
Listen to audio interviews of Hemingway’s Idaho friends talking about his life, along with historic photos of Hemingway and his friends.
Idaho Public TV: Idaho’s Hemingway
Watch the Idaho Public Television “Idaho’s Hemingway” episode of Idaho Experience, as it examines his life through the lens of the many items and spaces in his Ketchum, Idaho home.
Conversations on Hemingway
In 2021, PBS launched a Ken Burns/Lynn Novick documentary on the visionary work and turbulent life of Ernest Hemingway. The Community Library participated in several related events, including virtual conversations with Hemingway scholars and filmmakers, tours of the Hemingway home, and public television programming.
Hemingway’s Widow: The Life and Legacy of Mary Welsh Hemingway
Timothy Christian, professor emeritus at the University of Alberta, discusses his new book Hemingway’s Widow: The Life and Legacy of Mary Welsh Hemingway with Jenny Emery Davidson, executive director of The Community Library in Ketchum, Idaho.
Special Projects
Hemingway House Sessions
A collaborative project connecting local history with creative performance, the Hemingway House Sessions host a musician in the living room of the Ernest and Mary Hemingway House for a recording session.
#HemingwayLife
A Hemingway Fellowship project examining Hemingway as an influencer through the lens of social media.
Collections and Preservation
The Library holds a growing collection of Hemingway photographs, books, correspondence, ephemera, and more, and special collections from the David Meeker Collection, the Gray Family Collection, the Michael Reynolds Papers, and the house that was Hemingway’s final home.
Access the online Hemingway House Collection here.
Many of these items are held in the Regional History Archive and are exhibited on a rotating basis at the Library and the Museum. Items also are available for research requests.
Best of all he loved the fall. . . . with the tawny and grey, the leaves yellow on the cottonwoods, leaves floating on the trout streams and above the hills the high blue windless skies.
– Ernest Hemingway’s eulogy for Idaho friend Gene Van Guilder
October 1939, Sun Valley
Programs
Each September, the Library presents the annual Hemingway Seminar, a multi-day program to delve into Hemingway’s Life and work.
The Library presents the annual Hemingway Distinguished Lecture each July, featuring the finest contemporary writers.
In 2019, the Library launched a Writer-in-Residence Program at the private Hemingway House to support ongoing creative work.
