Homes With Stories
Some homes stay with me, not for their size or design, but for the lives they’ve held within their walls. I’m fascinated by how a single room can hold laughter, love, and countless moments that linger softly long after time moves on.
Recent Posts
Thomas Cole National Historic Site
Thomas Cole is often considered the founder of the Hudson River School, America’s first true artistic movement. His home at Thomas Cole National Historic Site is modest, especially when compared to the grand estates of some of his students, yet this quiet setting became an important gathering place for artists. Within these walls, and in the surrounding […]
Longfellow/Washington Headquarters
Standing in front of this house, it is easy to admire the symmetry, but its story reaches far beyond what you first see. This is the Longfellow House/Washington’s Headquarters in Cambridge. Built in 1759, it was originally the home of a wealthy Loyalist family. But its place in history changed quickly with the outbreak of the […]
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
While traveling through the Hudson River Valley, we made our way to Hyde Park to visit the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. Set above the Hudson River, the estate presents a sense of scale. This was the country home of Frederick William Vanderfilt, a member of one of the most influential families of the Gilded Age. […]
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Visiting Val-Kill in Hyde Park is special to me. Eleanor Roosevelt is a woman I admire, for her courage and for how she grew into the role she eventually played on the world’s stage. Val-Kill was not created as a grand residence. In the 1920, it began as a small furniture workshop, part of Eleanor’s effort to […]
Eisenhower National Historic Site
In Gettysburg is the only home that Dwight D. Eisenhower ever owned. A leader during World War II and later President, he lived a life defined by service. The home, now preserved as the Eisenhower National Historic Site, reflects a different side of his life. This modest farm is quiet, practical and personal. Eisenhower purchased the […]
Gilbert Stuart Birthplace
Gilbert Stuart went on to fame as the portrait artist of Geroge Washington, the very image that appears on every dollar bill. Our first visit to this site was during my homeschooling days. Visiting historic houses was a part of our homeschooling adventures, and I would purposely seek out places like this, homes where history felt real […]
Fruitlands Farmhouse
The farmhouse at Fruitlands is a house that we visited often. When my daughters were volunteering at the Orchard House in Concord, the farmhouse at Fruitlands helped fill in another part of the story of the Alcott Family. It was here that Bronson Alcot attempted to create and intentional community based on transcendentalist ideals. In […]
Hammersmith
In the 1990s, Hammersmith Farm in Newport opened for tours, and we made the trip to see it. The estate is best known as the childhood summer home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and as the site of the wedding reception following her marriage to John F. Kennedy in 1953. After the ceremony of St. Mary’s […]
Gillette Castle
While homeschooling, we would take numerous road trips to explore historic and natural sites. It was important to us that our children know the area they were growing up in and understand the stories connected to it. Connecticut was just a short drive from our home, so many of our day trips took us there to […]
Dutch Farmhouse
During our homeschooling years, many of our lessons took place on the road. We would explore historic houses throughout New England and the Hudson River Valley, giving the girls a chance to step inside the past rather than just read about it. Traveling through this part of New York also reminded us that the region has […]
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
The first time I visited the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, everything was new to me: his name, his work, even the realization that so many landscapes I had walked through carried the imprint of one mind. I did not grow up knowing who Frederick Law Olmsted was. I knew about parks. […]
Jackson Homestead
We have visited the Jackson Homestead in Newton many times over the years. Along with its rich local history, the house holds an important place in the story of the Underground Railroad. When I first visited it with my children, I remember seeing the iron shackles that had once been used on enslaved people. Seeing […]
