As part of a family genealogical search, I recently visited Watervliet Heritage Museum, a delightful Shaker site. Hancock Shaker Village, and Pleasant Hill in Kentucky are likely the most familiar Shaker museums to vacationers. These both are large, very well restored, and probably even easier to find! The Watervliet Shaker site, actually the movement’s first […]
Witch: Evolving Perceptions
After reading several books on the subject, The Wolves of Andover & The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent, Deliverance from Evil by Frances Hill ( while fictional, both are drawn from early America’s tragic historical character’s and events of the 1692 Witch Trials) I became intrigued and decided to visit the coastal village of Salem, […]
The Berkshire Museum – “Art, history, natural science. Make surprising connections!”
The Berkshire Museum, located in Pittsfield, MA, is a hidden gem. There are many of these small museums in New England – and probably elsewhere – founded by a local businessman and his family for the betterment of the surrounding community. In the early 1900s, there were many well to do families who brought their […]
Child’s View: Historic Deerfield
Guest Author: SerahRose Roth Herein lies the very first post of…going to museums with children! Our test subject is the grand-daughter of Sharon & Rich. She and I spent the afternoon at Historic Deerfield. Like the best historic villages, it’s a lovely place to walk. But what felt unique was the mixing of old and […]
Happy Birthday to Mother Ann Lee
Happy Birthday to Mother Ann Lee! Sometime this summer, visit one of the Shaker villages. They are all great outings, and a wonderful look at a piece of American history.
Hill-Stead Museum
What makes this museum unique and special is that it is a home. A place that Theodate (the Pope family’s daughter) designed and loved. While the collection of art and artifacts was largely collected by her father Alfred. Some of the paintings were moved in (1950’s) many of them have recently been moved back to […]
Augustus Saint- Gaudens national historic site
The Saint-Gaudens Memorial is a private, non-profit corporation chartered by the State of New Hampshire in 1919, to preserve and exhibit Saint-Gaudens’ home and studios. The trustees operated the site as a museum from 1927-1965, when they donated the property to the national Park Service. The Memorial continues to play an important role as a […]
Springfield Museum Quadrange
A number of museums up the hill from downtown Springfield Springfield, MA The Springfield Museums, located in the heart of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, is comprised of five world-class museums; the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts., the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum and […]
Sabbath Day lake Shaker Village
Museum Name: Sabbath Day lake Shaker Village Museum Address: Sabbath Day Lake, ME Review (optional): A small museum and the home of the remaining Shakers
Hancock Shaker Village
Museum Name: Hancock Shaker Village Museum Address: Pittsfield, ma very neat and full view of Shaker life from 1776 to 1960
