Abby Epplett, Historian

Besides visiting Historic New England’s Dole Little House , Museum of Old Newbury , and the Lower Green Area of Newbury , I also made several quick history stops while visiting the Newbury & Newburyport region, as I was unable to see these stops my previous trip to the area in September 2022 . Locations included a house and a memorial in the Upper Green Area of Newbury, along with historic buildings and one live horse in Downtown Newburyport.

Along with visiting Historic New England’s Dole Little House and the Museum of Old Newbury during my last trip to the Newbury & Newburyport region in June 2023, I visited the Lower Green Area of Newbury. Back in 2010, Preservation Massachusetts listed this area as one of the ten most threatened historic sites in the state. Stops include places maintained by the Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury (SDFSN) ; a stewardship property protected by a Historic New England (HNE) Preservation Easement Program , and historic signage created by the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission (MBCTC) .

On the same day I visited Dole-Little House, I also toured the  Museum of Old Newbury , located in Newburyport, MA. Founded as the Antiquarian and Historical Society of Old Newbury , the organization has existed since 1877 and spent its nearly 150 years “collecting, preserving, and presenting the history of Newburyport, Newbury, West Newbury, Byfield, and Plum Island”. The organization has known many locations but since 1955 has been in Cushing House , once the home to American politician and diplomat, Caleb Cushing.

Several weeks ago during Historic New England (HNE) Open House Day on the first Saturday in June, I visited Dole-Little House in Newbury, MA . This property — built with materials from another house around 1715 for either cattleman Richard Dole (1650-1723) or his nephew Richard Dole (1689-1778) — is rarely open to the public. The Dole and Little families were long-time North Shore residents, as cattleman Richard Dole’s father Richard Dole (1622-1705) was among the first European colonists to settle in the area. A distantly related branch of the Little family owned Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm , another HNE property in Newbury that I visited in mid September of last year .

Besides many great museums and historic houses in Newbury and Newburyport, some of which I will explore during my next trip to the Essex National Heritage Area , I visited several quick history stops along the Newburyport Harborwalk & Clipper City Rail Trail . The Custom House Maritime Museum is located along the route, along with sculptures from New England artists, lighthouses, and signage describing historical events and buildings in the area.

The fourth stop on my trip to the Newbury and Newburyport area was Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm , a Historic New England (HNE) property on the National Register of Historic Places with a late 17 th century house and a 230-acre farm, including a flock of animals supported by Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) , which has partnered with HNE since 2003. The property is adjacent to Bay Circuit Trail & Greenway , a “230+ mile, multi-use trail in Greater Boston” according to its website. The farmhouse itself has been a museum since 1992 after a six year, over $1 million restoration project. In the previous three hundred years, the property was owned by multiple distinct families, on a few of which lent their names to the house.

My third stop on my trip to the Newbury and Newburyport area was Coffin House , a Historic New England (HNE) property just down the street from Swett-Ilsley House . For over three hundred years, this building was home to the Coffins, a Quaker family whose numerous descendants include abolitionist and women’s rights activist Lucretia Coffin Mott . The guide described the family as being so numerous that a descendent will be on a tour almost every day, travelling from as close by as Nantucket to as far away as Samoa.

As the second stop on my trip to Newbury and Newburyport, I visited Swett-Ilsley House , a property of Historic New England (HNE) . Constructed as a one-room house by Stephen Swett in 1670 and greatly expanded in its 350 years, this house was the first historic building purchased by William Sumner Appleton, Jr. , founder of what is now HNE. Conveniently located down the road from another HNE property, Coffin House , the Swett-Ilsley House served many purposes during its long existence and still serves as a rental property, along with a museum. Like other house museums in 17 th century buildings, the house is considered a study property, with additions from later periods stripped away and very little reproduction furniture in the space.

In mid September 2022, I took a day trip to the Newbury and Newburyport area in Massachusetts, part of the Essex National Heritage Area and North of Boston . My first stop was the Custom House Maritime Museum in Newburyport. The 1834 Neoclassical stone building was designed by architect Robert Mills , who also laid out the plans for the Custom House in New Bedford and multiple famous buildings in Washington, D.C. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971 for its former use as a United States custom house, making it a crucial part of the transatlantic trade system in the mid 19 th and early 20 th century. The custom house ceased operation in 1911, and the building fell into disrepair until its restoration by the Newburyport Maritime Society from 1972 to 1975. In late 2018, the building was official sold to the Society by the now-dissolved Newburyport Redevelopment Authority .