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Museum membership guide
Top 18 places in Massachusetts for History
byShiry
Live update: Updated February 15, 2022Copy link
Copy link1. Springfield Museums Corporation
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
ShiryLocated in the heart of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, the Springfield Museums offers access to four world-class museums and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden all under a single admission.
2. Concord Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryRecommended this place!
3. Larz Anderson Auto Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryHome to “America’s Oldest Car Collection” the Larz Anderson Auto Museum is just 5 miles outside of Boston and set in the beautiful 64 acre Larz Anderson Park. The Museum hosts numerous types of events throughout the year, including educational speaker series, musical events and car shows such as Tutto Italiano, the largest Italian Car Festival in the Northeast.
4. Marblehead Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Marblehead Museum’s Collections and Exhibits preserve and interpret the local and national importance of Marblehead — and its inhabitants — through programs and artifacts that span five centuries. Exhibits focus on many aspects of Marblehead’s history, drawing from the MMHS collections as well as outside lenders. Past exhibits include: Off the Wall: Wallpapers from the Lee Mansion and Show Me a Sign, (see archive of Past Exhibits). Exhibits change two to three times a year.
5. Public Health Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Public Health Museum is an independent 501(c)3 organization, housed in the historic Richard Morris building (also known as the Old Administration Building) of Tewksbury Hospital in Massachusetts. The Museum strives to preserve artifacts and records of our nation’s history in public health and serve as a resource to the community to educate and promote public health initiatives that address current health issues.
6. Chesterwood, A Site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryChesterwood, a National Trust Historic Site, is the country home, studio and gardens of America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments, Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), creator of the Minute Man and Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial. Situated on 122 acres in the idyllic hamlet of Glendale near Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the property and its buildings were donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by French’s only child, Margaret French Cresson (1889-1973). Inspired by the natural beauty of the Berkshire Hills, French purchased the former Marshall Warner farm in 1896. Each year, during the month of May, he left his permanent home and studio in New York for six months and moved with his family to Chesterwood, where he worked on over 200 public and private commissions. Many of French’s plaster sketches, including models of his Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial, are on view today in his Studio as well as in the permanent exhibit, Daniel Chester French: Sculpting an American Vision, in the Barn Gallery. Visitors to Chesterwood are also invited to explore An Artist’s Landscape, a self-guided tour of the beautiful formal gardens and woodland paths created by French himself.
7. Fall River Historical Society
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Fall River Historical Society is housed in a mansion museum constructed in 1843/1870, once a station on the Underground Railroad, featuring magnificent period interiors and the largest concentration of 19th-century polychrome stenciling in southeastern Massachusetts. Collections include: Americana; costumes and accessories; decorative arts; ephemera; Fall River textile mill history; furniture; local history; manuscripts; maritime, featuring the famous Fall River Line steamships; 19th- and 20th-century paintings, drawings, and sculpture; and photographs. The museum houses The Charlton Library of Fall River History, featuring the largest library and archival collection of material pertaining to all aspects of the history of Fall River and its multi-cultural people. The museum is noted worldwide as the central repository for materials pertaining to the infamous 1892 Borden murder case, and the life of Lizzie A. Borden. Among the artifacts on display from this collection are the only extant courtroom exhibits and physical evidence from that trial, including the alleged murder weapon. Our curators are recognized worldwide as the leading experts on Lizzie Borden and the Borden murders.
8. Forbes House Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Forbes House Museum preserves and celebrates the rich Forbes family history. As entrepreneurs, philanthropists and collectors, the family’s aspirations and achievements mirrored America’s development. The house itself is a beautiful Greek Revival style mansion, built in 1833 with a fortune earned in the early American China Trade, while several of its rooms exhibit the Victorian style favored later. It boasts a commanding view of the Boston harbor and city skyline. Inside, visitors will find treasures from the China Trade, items from a humanitarian relief voyage to Ireland in 1847, nautical artifacts, servants’ rooms, and more. There’s even a room dedicated to artifacts and memorabilia from Lincoln and the Civil War and a replica of Lincoln’s log cabin in the backyard.
9. The House of the Seven Gables
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association is dedicated to continuing Caroline Emmerton’s work by preserving this National Historic Landmark District and leveraging its power as American icon to engage diverse audiences and provide educational opportunities for the local immigrant community.
10. Trustees | Fruitlands
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryFruitlands Museum, founded in 1914 by Clara Endicott Sears, takes its name from an experimental utopian community led by Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane which took place on this site in 1843.
11. Beverly Historical Society
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Beverly Historical Society has been preserving and caring for Beverly’s past since 1891 and the 1781 John Cabot House has been our headquarters since 1892. In addition to a collection of nearly a million objects and documents related to Beverly and the North Shore of Massachusetts, the Society preserves and interprets three historic properties, the Balch House, Hale Farm, and the Cabot House, and engages the community in a variety of programs.
12. Cape Ann Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Cape Ann Museum tells multiple stories, all relating to a single remarkable place. From its earliest days as a fishing and shipping port to its mid-19th century role in the granite industry, to its singular charms of light and sea that have attracted countless artists from the 19th century to the present, Cape Ann boasts a rich and varied culture of nationally significant historical, industrial, and artistic achievement. The Museum’s fine art collection includes the largest grouping of works by native son and renowned marine artist, Fitz Henry Lane, as well as work by other prominent painters and sculptors who lived on, visited or were inspired by Cape Ann. The work of contemporary Cape Ann artists is also collected and exhibited. The permanent collection includes fine and decorative arts, and artifacts from the major industries of the area – the fisheries and granite quarrying.
13. Cyrus Dallin Art Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryLocation: 611 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02474, United States. For more details: http://www.dallin.org , 781-641-0747
14. Duxbury Rural and Historical Society
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Duxbury Rural and Historical Society is a non-profit organization seeking to foster a better understanding of the heritage and rural environment of Duxbury, Massachusetts.
15. Falmouth Museums on the Green
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Falmouth Museums on the Green, owned and operated by the Falmouth Historical Society and located on Cape Cod, is a 2-acre venue that offers a wide swath: the 1790 Dr. Francis Wicks House, which is a guided tour of a Federal-period home that shows how an affluent physician lived in the days after the American Revolution; the 1730 Conant House, which is used for rotating exhibits, a research library, and offices; the Hallett Barn Visitors Center, where tours begin and where exhibits on Falmouth history, as well as the “Whaling Wives Gift Shop”, are located; the Cultural Center, where public and private programs, lectures and exhibits are held; and the Colonial Gardens and Memorial Park, which are gardens maintained by the Falmouth Garden Club.
16. Old Colony History Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryThe Old Colony History Museum houses significant collections which chronicle lives lived, wars waged, fortunes won and ingenuity rewarded. We encourage visitors to walk among our exhibits and discover regional history. Others can find their roots in our research library, specializing in local genealogy. The Museum’s parent organization is the Old Colony Historical Society, one of the oldest organizations of its kind in New England. Founded in 1853, it serves the region of southeastern Massachusetts that was once part of the Plymouth Colony. At OCHM, we’re committed to the preservation of our history through public engagement and community outreach. We’re here to collect, curate, interpret and bring to vibrant life the history of the Old Colony, collaborating with the community to share those meaningful connections that knit together our past, present and future. We invite you to experience what we mean by history happens here. The Old Colony History Museum is located on historic Church Green in Taunton. The Museum has its headquarters in the former Bristol Academy, designed in 1852 by the New York architect Richard Upjohn.
ALSO FEATURED IN:Top 26 Historic Site locations in Massachusetts
17. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryRecommended this place!
18. Martha's Vineyard Museum
PEOPLE ARE SAYING:ShiryRecommended this place!
ALSO FEATURED IN:Top 31 places in Massachusetts for Art
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