To help mark the occasion of Historic New England’s 115th anniversary in 2025, we are sharing some of our favorite collection stories from Historic New England magazine—which turns twenty-five this year. For our final installment in the series, we indulge in nostalgia for an elegant winter mode of transportation: the horse-drawn sleigh. This sleigh, with its sleek […]
Sustaining Our Past, written by Historic New England’s Director of Sustainability Joie Grandbois, explores Historic New England’s climate action efforts and highlights how we’re adapting historic sites to meet the challenges of a changing environment. Through project updates, partnerships, community engagement—and the occasional reflection on sustainability in our communities and our daily lives—Joie shares how […]
Ati Gropius Forberg Johansen, who died in 2014, would have turned 100 on December 19, 2025. She was the only child of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and his wife and collaborator, Ise. Ati had an outsized personality; an artist and educator, she was smart, opinionated, and a fierce protector of her parents’ legacy. She transformed […]
Ati Gropius Forberg Johansen, who died in 2014, would have turned 100 on December 19, 2025. She was the only child of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius and his wife and collaborator, Ise. Ati had an outsized personality; an artist and educator, she was smart, opinionated, and a fierce protector of her parents’ legacy. She transformed […]
In 1895, Haverhill, Massachusetts was at the peak of its industrial power, turning out thousands of shoes each day from its many factories. It was to great dismay of factory owners that, in February of that year, workers across the city engaged in a massive strike, stopping shoe production and crippling local infrastructure. Over 3,500 […]
In this month’s installment of Behind the Exhibition, our resident myth-buster, Curator of Collections Erica Lome, re-evaluates the story of a warming pan purportedly presented to a hero of the American Revolution by the grateful residents of Danvers, Massachusetts. Its story is one of the many included in Myth and Memory: Stories of the American Revolution, opening […]
For more than 130 years, Gilman Garrison House in Exeter, New Hampshire, was shaped by a remarkable succession of women whose enterprise, creativity, and determination ensured the house’s survival. Beginning with Betsy and Eunice Clifford, who inherited the property in 1821 and transformed its Georgian parlor into a thriving millinery shop, the house became a […]
In the summer of 1976, scholars, students, and enthusiasts gathered at the Dublin School in Dublin, New Hampshire, for what would become the first Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife. Founder Peter Benes—inspired by the pioneering work of Nina Fletcher Little, whose son was a Harvard College classmate—envisioned a new kind of forum: one that […]
During the holidays, Gilded Age house museums across the United States come alive, using seasonal decor to showcase the grandeur of the homes and invite visitors to experience the past in a new way. From the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, to the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, these celebrations have become cornerstones of museum […]
Across New England, preserving, documenting, and interpreting the region’s history takes many forms. Each year, Historic New England celebrates individuals and organizations whose work provides new insights, safeguards important collections, and deepens public understanding of the region through the annual Book Prize and Prize for Collecting Works on Paper. The Historic New England Book Prize […]
Sustaining Our Past, usually written by Historic New England’s Director of Sustainability Joie Grandbois, explores Historic New England’s climate action efforts and highlights how we’re adapting historic sites to meet the challenges of a changing environment. This month, Climate Action Intern Riley Flannery, who is working with Joie this fall, takes over for a guest […]
In this month’s installment of Behind the Exhibition, Curator of Collections Erica Lome explores the complex history of Loyalist Jonathan Sayward, whose political stances led his neighbors to ostracize him. Sayward’s story is one of the many included in Myth and Memory: Stories of the American Revolution, opening May 15, 2026, at the Eustis Estate in Milton, […]
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