NEW ENGLAND HISTORY

New England history is rich and abundant, and comes to life vividly for visitors to this special region. New Englanders value their history and carefully preserve it. You’ll find fascinating and interactive history experiences as you travel throughout the region.

Living History Museums

Especially interesting are New England’s “living history museums” which let visitors literally step back in time. In these special exhibits, entire villages have been recreated to depict a period in New England history. Costumed actors assume the names, viewpoints, and life histories of the people who actually lived in the original village.

More historic highlights

Other New England history attractions include:

  • Newport Mansions – Newport, Rhode Island. Travel to the sailing capital of Rhode Island to tour the expansive and grand “summer cottages” built by the Vanderbilts and other wealthy families of the Gilded Age. Most mansions are positioned overlooking the water with extensive grounds.
  • Blackstone River Valley – Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Also in the tiny state of Rhode Island, head north to the Blackstone River Valley to learn about the start of America’s Industrial Revolution. Visit Slater Mill, named 2009 Editors' Choice for "Best History Escape" in Rhode Island by Yankee Magazine. The mill, which was built in 1793, was the first commercially viable cotton-spinning mill with a water power system in the United States.
  • New Bedford Whaling Museum – New Bedford, Massachusetts. Learn about whales and the history of whaling at this museum, located 51 miles south of Boston. The museum examines the history of human interaction with whales – from pursuit to preservation. Exhibits include whaling prints, Old Master whale paintings, and British scrimshaw.
  • Shelburne Musuem – Shelburne, Vermont. In the green hills of Vermont, the offers a wide range of American artifacts – from folk art and furniture to quilts, textiles, and dolls. Much of the museum is housed in 18th- and 19th-century structures moved from other locations in New England. These include a lighthouse, a jail, a covered bridge and the 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga. The beautiful grounds, which overlook Lake Champlain, include a 1920s working carousel, over 400 lilacs, and herb and heirloom vegetable gardens.
  • Canterbury Shaker Village – Canterbury, New Hampshire. Discover the lives of the Shakers, one of the many sects that sought religious freedom in America, in this picturesque setting. This national historic landmark recreates this Shaker colony with restored and reconstructed Shaker buildings and gardens, fields, ponds and forests. Known for its tranquil beauty, the village offers tours, exhibits, workshops, family programs, hiking trails, unique shopping and delicious food.
  • The Museum of African American History is New England’s largest museum dedicated to preserving, conserving and interpreting the contributions of African Americans. In Boston and Nantucket, the Museum has preserved four historic sites and two Black Heritage Trails® that tell the story of organized black communities from the Colonial Period through the 19th century. Tour the first publicly funded schoolhouse in the United States for African-American children (1835) and the African Meeting House, the oldest extant black church building in the United States built by free African American artisans.
  • Hancock Shaker Village – Pittsfield, Massachusetts. For another Shaker experience, visit the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA. Restored buildings showcase graceful Shaker furniture, craft and household items. The museum’s beautiful Round Stone Barn is among the most famous of all Shaker buildings and is a testament to Shaker efficiency, innovation and design.
  • Maine Maritime Museum – Bath, Maine. Journey further north into Maine to experience this state’s rich seafaring history at this museum on the banks of the Kennebec River. Hear stories about dangerous voyages to distant lands, see how a shipbuilder’s family lived in the 1890s, smell the sawdust from historic ship timbers. River cruises are available in season and two of Maine’s most praised beaches are nearby.

Other useful New England history travel links: