Peak House Heritage Center

In October 2025, I went to a special event at Peak House Heritage Center in Medfield, MA. Striking for its early colonial architecture and location on Main Street, Peak House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Despite being a small property (the parking lot only fits five cars), the combination of a well-trained volunteer group, updated signage, and an easy to navigate website make this destination well worth the trip. This is an ideal house for families on their first historic house tour.

A three-story post-medieval style building with a sharply pitched roof A pair of metal informational signs describing the history of Peak House Metal replica of a gravestone embedded in a wooden desk with cotton-based paper and wide, flat crayons to make an impression.

The signage outside the house told the unique story of dating the property. Back in 1930, historians from the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission believed the original version of the house had been built in 1651 and was burned in 1676 during King Philip’s War, also known as Metacom’s War. The rebuild in 1680 was supposedly what stood in Medfield today. However, our old friend dendrochronology revealed that Peak House was built as part of a larger building by Benjamin Clark in 1713. Just the peak was moved to the current location by his grandson Seth Clark, Jr. around 1762. Many years later in 1924, Frederick Mason Smith donates the house to Medfield Historical Society, the current owners. The organization collaborated with the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), now called Historic New England, to restore the house. Other exterior signage described a partnership between Peak House and Brown University during the 1970s. Archaeologists worked with local volunteers to excavate the area, with findings including broken smoking pipes, glass bottles, and shards of ceramics.

A pair of early 18th century gravestone replicas, each depicting a skull with angel wings A mid-18th century red brick fireplace with the main fireplace, a bread oven, a wood or coal burning section, and a closed wooden cupboard over the bread oven. Signs depicting the silhouettes of the Clark family, including two parents and 10 children

Inside the house were small exhibits and high quality interactives. Kiosks played short videos about house history, while a rubbing station gave visitors the experience of making an impression of a gravestone without damaging the original piece. A family tree of the original owner’s family was a helpful way to understand how many people had to fit in the house. Standard architectural features for the post-medieval period, including gunstock posts, chamfered beams, casement windows, and a front door studded with handmade nails, were pointed out with appropriate signage. Old house enthusiasts will delight in the contrast between the house and its Georgian era basement, which is supported by a mid-18th century fieldstone arch. Back outside, the well has been carefully located, restored, and capped to prevent accidents. A helpful nearby sign shows the timeline of the house from the original Elizabethan-style building with a thatched roof from 1668 to the remaining ell seen today.

A temporary wall with landscape paintings. The inside corner of the roof in a post-medieval style post-and-beam building A basement with a gravel floor and a distinct fieldstone arch from the center of the room to the wall on the left

Since this was a special event, visitors were treated to a historical cider-making demonstration by a pair of knowledgeable costumed interpreters. I was permitted to beat the apples using a large mortar and pestle, which made me grateful for modern blenders. Other activities included estimating the weight of a pumpkin, which I did badly, and having tasty cider donated by Roche Bros. with donuts donated by Blue Moon Bagel Cafe. The house also had a special exhibit, “A Brush with Nature: The Art of Medfield’s John Jesse Francis”, a collection of landscape paintings created by a local artist who used Peak House as a studio. The exhibit included an informational kiosk to learn more plus a free postcard. As a whole, this was among the best small organization events that I have ever attended, as everyone I met was informative and happy to be there. Peak House is only open for special occasion where a free ticket is required. Be sure to check out their website between late April and early October to sign up.

Post-medieval style wooden door studded with handmade nails A round stone wall around a capped well. A couple wearing period costumes stands under a simple tent and uses 18th century materials to mash up apples to make cider. Peak House is in the background.