Massachusetts
Recent Articles
Naumkeag
While visiting the Berkshires, Marty and I made our way to one of the most memorable homes in Stockbridge, the remarkable estate known as Naumkeag. Set high on a hill, the house is a mix of brick, stone and shingle, and along with its rounded turret, gives it a European feel. Naumkeag is a product of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
John Ward House
The John Ward House in Salem, Massachusetts, stands as one of the finest surviving examples of 17th century New England architecture. Built in 1684 for John Ward, a successful currier, the house reflects not only skilled craftsmanship but also the growing prosperity of Salem in the late 1600s. By the time this house was constructed, […]
Codman Estate
The Codman House in Lincoln, known as The Grange, stands as one of the most elegant and layered historic homes in Massachusetts, and is another home that we have visited often. There is something about returning to a place like this that deepens appreciation with each visit. Build around 1747, and later expanded, the house […]
John F. Kennedy’s Birthplace
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts offers the opportunity to step into the earliest chapters of that life that would shape world history. Touring this modest home, you are greeted by the recorded voice of Rose Kennedy. She calmly recounts the rhythms and rituals of family life. Through her reflections, the house […]
Edith Wharton’s Mount
Exploration through road trips was a big part of homeschooling in our household. Each spring, when historic homes reopened for the season, off we would go, ready to step into another life and another era. One such stop was Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Massachusetts, a place we returned to more than once, always drawn back […]
Gropius House
We have visited the Gropius House in Lincoln several times, and often the tours were international. More than once, we found ourselves alongside visitors from Europe, particularly Germany, drawn here because of the reputation of the man who designed and lived in this remarkable home. The house was built in 1938 by Walter Gropius, one of […]
Old Manse
One homeschooling morning, I took Emmy and Erin to visit the Old Manse in Concord. As was often the case with weekday explorations, the house was nearly empty. Museums and historic sites were a big part of our schooling. Built in 1770 for the Reverend William Emerson, the Old Manse stands just steps from the […]
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., remains one of the towering figures in American legal history, whose ideas continue to shape constitutional law and the way we think about freedom and the role of courts. His life spanned history from the Civil War through the Great Depression with nearly 30 years on the U.S. Supreme Court. Holmes […]
