Alden House National Historic Site

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A black, white, and dark blue striped header image with the text Alden House National Historic Site

In early August 2024, I visited Duxbury, MA, one of the first towns settled by English colonists in the 17th century. My first stop was Alden House National Historic Site, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978 and constructed by John Alden for his wife, fellow Mayflower passenger Priscilla Mullins Alden, in the mid to late 17th. The couple was famous not only for coming over on the Mayflower, but also from the poem The Courtship of Miles Standish written in 1858 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (whose house I visited in 2023). The house is still owned by the family, who opened it to the public as a museum.

A two-story Post-Medieval style house with Georgian style windows, unpainted shingle-sided walls, and a bright red front door A hand stenciled sign, black letters on white background National Historic Landmark marker for John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites

The tour began in the visitor center, which was undergoing repairs. A short video also available online reviewed the history of the Mayflower and its passengers, along with detailing the lives of the Alden family and their descendants. A family tree on the wall showed the large number of Alden descendants in prominent places, including my favorite U.S. president, Calvin Coolidge. My own connection to the Mayflower is through the Allerton and Cushman families, so my name was not on the wall. The guide answered general questions before the group headed out to the house. The visitor center was accessible to those using a wheelchair and had plenty of seating.

A Post-Medieval style interior with light blue painted walls and a late 18th century highboy against the way Four-Poster Canopy Bed at Alden House A late 18th century fireplace with painted wood paneling surrounding the red brick

The interior of the building was fairly similar to other post-Medieval houses I have visited, with exposed timber framing revealing gunstock posts and chamfering along the summer beam, coats of paint introduced during the Colonial Revival of the early 20th century, and furniture collected from Alden descendants. Rooms were set up as specific living spaces that would not have been designated as such for the original family, including a high boy dresser in the main hall, bedrooms with four-poster canopy beds, embroidered samplers on the walls, and a banjo clock with reverse glass painting in the parlor. One special feature was the three-part staircase split by the large central chimney on its way to the second floor. I had seen this feature only once before, at Historic New England’s Dole-Little House in Newbury, MA.

A pair of small beds in a small room; in the corner, the exposed post-and-beam framing includes a gunstock post Small room with a bed painted bright pink; the exposed post-and-beam framing includes a bright pink gunstock post Banjo Clock with Reverse Painted Glass of the English Countryside including Windmills

A bonus room of the house featured a special exhibit, “In Small Things Remembered: Exploring the World of Mayflower Pilgrims John & Priscilla Alden”, about archaeology around Alden House. This work was originally led by Roland Wells Robbins, also known for rediscovering Thoreau’s Cabin at Walden Pond in 1945 and Saugus Iron Works, now a National Historic Site, around the same time. This work continues to be done by professors and students at Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research of UMass Boston.

A central stair splits into a left and right portion to go around the large central chimney, connecting the first floor to the second floor Embroidered Sampler at Alden House A mid 18th century red brick fireplace with a rough wooden mantle

My favorite artifact in this section was a reproduction of a tinned brass ring found on the property. The ring depicts Peter holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven, Catholic imagery known worldwide and also appearing on the iron gates of Catedral Primada de América in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The Protestant Mayflower passengers would not have worn such a ring, but Jesuit missionaries in French Canada gave these to Native Americans, who traded them along extensive networks throughout New England and the Canadian Maritime. Another interesting piece was a model of the original house, which appeared very different than the current building, as the original was a one-and-a-half story building with two prominent gables and casement windows.

A white plaster Post-Medieval one-and-a-half story model with two large gables Reproduction St. Paul Ring Signage describing the work of Roland Wells Robbins in rediscovering the site and others, along with reproduction photographs

The extant building was the second house of the Alden family; the outline of the first was about a quarter mile away on property now belonging to the town and could be accessed by a short trail. Signage near the site described the work of Robbins along with Alden Kindred of America member Russell W. Edwards, who worked together to find the cellar hole where the Alden family lived between roughly 1630 and 1675. Artifacts recovered from the site included scissors, clothing buckles, and a pestle. While the site itself was nondescript and marked only with wooden stakes and a rope, the signage provided a map of the dig to compare where the original foundation would have stood.

Four wooden posts with rope connecting them to cover an area of about 30 feet by 10 feet Explanation on the excavation of the original foundation Advertising for the exhibit at Alden House on the excavation of the site.

Alden House is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., June 1 through Columbus Day, while grounds are open year round. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children and students, and $0 for Alden Kindred of America members, New England Museum Association (NEMA) members, active duty veterans and their families, Card to Culture holders, and Duxbury Free Library card holders. The entire tour took ninety minutes, as the portion in the visitor center was severely delayed; the tour likely takes forty-five minutes in most cases. The house was not accessible for those using a wheelchair or with limited mobility; lighting was fine on a sunny summer day but would have been dim on any other day. No virtual tour is available at this time. This house combines unique architectural features with a history of national importance to be a worthy stop for anyone in the Plymouth area looking to learn more about early colonial life.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 7/10

Accessibility: 5/10



Location: 105 Alden St, Duxbury, MA 02332, USA