Mary Baker Eddy Historic House: Amesbury
Back in September 2023, I had a history adventure in Amesbury, MA and neighboring Portsmouth, NH. During my first two major stops, I visited Historic New England’s Rocky Hill Meeting House and Lowell’s Boat Shop. For my third major stop, I toured the Mary Baker Eddy Historic House in Amesbury, which served as her temporary residence in 1868 and 1870. This was my third historical experience involving Eddy, founder of the Church of Christian Science. My visit to the “How Do You See the World?” Experience & Mapparium at the Christian Science Plaza in Boston, MA back in May 2022 was my first post to the blog, and I visited a pair of her homes in Lynn and Swampscott, MA in September 2022.
Unlike many of the house tours that I take, this focused not on architecture, decor, or a community but the life and philosophy of a single person. Constructed in 1780, the house was home to the Bagley family by the 1860s. The current restoration of the house, which finished in 2022, represents this time period. Amesbury native Sarah Osgood Bagley owned the home and rented out rooms. Mary Baker Eddy, who at the time was called Mary Glover, reverting to the surname of her first husband after she was abandoned by her second husband, allegedly arrived during a nighttime storm. The trunk holding her belongings is still on display in her bedroom.
Eddy was still at the beginning of her journey of founding the Church of Christian Science. She used the parlor of the home to teach others about her beliefs, including Sarah Bagley, and began writing down her interpretations of the Bible, some of which would find its way into her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She put advertisements for her classes in a local newspaper, Banners of Light, which typically attracted a spiritualist audience. Also during this time, she met abolitionist Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier, whose house I would visit later on the trip. Eddy wrote that he was sick at the time of their meeting, but he was healed after her visit.
What I most appreciated about the house was its careful restoration. Every room had unique reproduction wallpaper and carpets, along with period furniture and books. Even the little reed organ in the parlor was restored. Pieces of the original wallpaper were left untouched so visitors could see a before and after. While the result is likely romanticized version of what the house actually looked like at the time, the atmosphere fits with the mission of the house’s parent organization, Longyear Museum, to share the life and work of Eddy, who has been described as warm and inviting by every docent I have met.
The Mary Baker Eddy Historic House in Amesbury is open during tour season from May through October on Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tours are given on demand, and you might be the only visitor for the day. Admission is free, although a $7 donation is suggested. Like most historic houses, this museum is not accessible for those using a wheelchair or with limited mobility due to steep stairs and narrow passageways. However, the museum provides an extensive virtual experience on their website, including a twenty-five minute video house tour, a fifteen minute restoration tour, a children’s activity, and a 3D Matterport walkthrough.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 8/10
Accessibility: 8/10