You Can Tour 10 Historic Properties for Free This Month
Hang out in antique abodes and lush gardens across the state during the Trustees' open house day.
Photos provided by the Trustees
Touring an antique house is probably one of the best ways to spend a spring weekend in good ol’ Massachusetts. Fortunately for the state’s home and garden lovers, you can do so for free this month. Thanks to the Trustees, grand mansions and lush gardens will be yours to explore on May 19 for their “Home Sweet Home” open house day.
The organization is waiving admission fees for 10 properties across the state as part of their annual Preservation Month celebration. This year, Home Sweet Home’s theme is “The Art of the Garden: Inspiration Grows Here.” It’s meant to honor the restoration work the organization has been doing at gardens across the state. To celebrate, the Trustees is launching a new garden trail map during the open house day, allowing visitors to embark on self-guided adventures through the properties’ sweet-smelling grounds.
Whether you’re an amateur history buff, architecture lover, or avid horticulturalist, the Trustees invites visitors to experience the art, beauty, and history contained within the walls of each home—and outside of them. The houses span a 300-year timeline of architecture, from the Colonial era to the Modern movement, and contain preserved natural landscapes, landscape design, art, and artifacts.
Here are the 10 places you can celebrate the Home Sweet Home open house day—good luck choosing just one.
Fruitlands Museum photo provided by the Trustees
1. Fruitlands Museum, Harvard
The Fruitlands Museum is relatively new addition to the Trustees’ roster of properties. Situated on 210 verdant acres in Harvard, it was originally founded as a Utopian community in 1914, and today holds collections of American, Shaker, and Native American artifacts. There are two miles of trails on the property as well as a historic farmhouse that was once home to the family of Louisa May Alcott.
102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, thetrustees.org.
Castle Hill photo provided by the Trustees
2. The Great House at Castle Hill, Ipswich
The venue for the now famous “Roaring Twenties Lawn Party,” the Great House at Castle Hill is well… great. Built in 1928, the 59-room Stuart-style mansion is chock full of period antiques. Outside, visitors can marvel at the “Grand Allée,” a half-mile long stretch of green grass that ends in a bluff overlooking Ipswich’s Crane Beach. This year, a public art installation will debut at Castle Hill. Called TunnelTeller, the site-specific work by Alicja Kwade is meant to be an abstract interpretation of the estate’s former hedge maze.
290 Argilla Road, Ipswich, thetrustees.org.
Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate photo provided by the Trustees
3. The Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate, Canton
This Georgian-style mansion is a country retreat that sits only 15 miles outside of the city. Surrounded by 90 acres of gardens and fields, the estate’s nature trails boast panoramic views of the Blue Hills. While the wildflowers and berries in the gardens are a treat, the house isn’t usually open unless there’s a wedding. Take advantage of the guided house tours first, then do a self-guided trail walk.
2468B Washington Street (Route 138), Canton, thetrustees.org.
Stevens-Coolidge Place photo provided by the Trustees
4. The Stevens-Coolidge Place, North Andover
Get your fill of European garden design at the Stevens-Coolidge Place, a Colonial Revival home that has a French-inspired yard. Behind the house are several garden “rooms,” including a rose garden, a cut-flower garden, a greenhouse, and a “potager” (also known as a French kitchen garden) with a ribbon-shaped brick wall. As an added bonus, the Trustees’ traveling biergarten in partnership with Notch brewing will launch at the Stevens-Coolidge Place during open house day.
137 Andover Street, North Andover, thetrustees.org.
Old Manse photo provided by the Trustees
5. The Old Manse, Concord
This one’s for history lovers. The Old Manse was built by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grandfather in 1770, and sits right next to the spot where the Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775. To those suffering from writer’s block, both Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne penned literary greats in the house. Tour highlights include the opportunity to sit in an exact replica of Emerson’s Windsor Chair Desk, where he wrote the poem “Nature.”
269 Monument Street, Concord, thetrustees.org.
Ashley House photo provided by the Trustees
6. The Ashley House, Sheffield
The Ashley House is the oldest house in Berkshire County, which means it boasts quite a bit of history. In 1781, Elizabeth Freeman, a slave at the property, sued for her freedom under the new state constitution. The home is rarely open to the public, so take a self-guided tour and check out the exhibit about Freeman.
117 Cooper Hill Road, Ashley Falls, Sheffield, thetrustees.org.
Naumkeag photo provided by the Trustees
7. Naumkeag, Stockbridge
If you’ve ever dreamt of a taste of the Gilded Age in the Berkshires, Naumkeag is your spot. Named for the Native American tribe of the area, the estate contains a 44-room, shingle-style “cottage” and acres of impressive gardens designed by the father of modern American landscape design, Fletcher Steele. This year, the property will offer tours of its brand-new greenhouse, and its recently restored Chinese Garden.
5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, thetrustees.org.
Mission House photo provided by the Trustees
8. The Mission House, Stockbridge
Built in 1742, the Mission House presents an extensive collection of 18th-century period furniture and art, as well as an exhibit about the Mohican tribe that lived in the area. Gardens on the property provide herbs, perennials, and other plants that proved to be valuable to the colonists. The property is also located down the street from Naumkeag and contains a Fletcher Steele-designed garden.
19 Main Street, Stockbridge, thetrustees.org.
The Folly at Field Farm photo provided by the Trustees
9. The Folly at Field Farm, Williamstown
The pinwheel-shaped structure that is the Folly was designed in 1965 by post-modernist architect Ulrich Franzen. It’s New England’s youngest house museum, and happens to contain all of its original furniture. The midcentury modern construction sits next to the Guest House at Field Farm, a bed and breakfast managed by the Trustees. This home is only open during open house day each year, so don’t forget to peep the sleek-looking furniture and then check out the sculpture garden outside.
554 Sloan Road, Williamstown, thetrustees.org.
William Cullen Bryant Homestead photo provided by the Trustees
10. The William Cullen Bryant Homestead, Cummington
William Cullen Bryant was a notable 19th-century poet as well as a longtime editor of the New York Evening Post. He converted this home from a two-story farmhouse to a three-story Victorian cottage in 1865, and wrote extensively about the natural landscape surrounding the property. Inspect the memorabilia from Bryant, his travels, and his family, and see for yourself why Frederick Law Olmsted was inspired by Bryant’s poems about the greenery.
207 Bryant Road, Cummington, thetrustees.org.
Home Sweet Home will take place Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 10 locations throughout Massachusetts. For more information, visit thetrustees.org.
