The John Updike Society has signed an agreement for purchasing the childhood home of John Updike for $200,000 as part of a plan to turn the home into a museum. The house is located in Shillington, PA, about one and a half hours northwest from Philadelphia. According to the Reading Eagle, Updike lived in the two-story home for the first thirteen years of his life.

“There will be some renovations we want to make to get the place in shape,” said James Plath, President of the 250-member Society. He added that, since the house still lies in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the house will be open only by appointment and will not list regular hours for visitors. Plath also said, in preparation for the purchase and cultivation of the Updike home,

John Updike died in 2009. A prolific novelist, essayist, and art and literature critic for the New Yorker, he won the Pulitzer Prize twice for his novels Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest.

“We expect the Updike house to be a destination for writers and scholars,” said Plath.

Sources: Reading Eagle , John Updike Society

And for those not familiar with John Updike’s contributions to American literature and culture, his account of the last at-bat of Ted Williams, of baseball’s hall of fame, available here, is described by many as one of the best works of sportswriting ever.

Photo of Shillington home of John Updike taken by Tim Leedy of the Reading Eagle.