New England’s history runs deep, and with America’s 250th anniversary this year, there are plenty of tours offering you a way to step into the past. Many homes begin opening in May and June.
Here are some Massachusetts gems, and a few spots worth a trip over the border. Time to plan your home-reno vision board.
The Fairbanks House, Dedham
The Fairbanks House, with its narrow, low doorways and varying ceiling heights, lays claim as “the oldest surviving timber-frame house in North America,” per its website. The National Historic Landmark bills itself as “one of finest examples of historic American architecture.”
Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks immigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1633. In 1636, they became founding members of Dedham and settled in this home built circa 1637-1641, according to the home’s website. “It is important to note that Jonathan did not build the house himself. Instead, he hired a master carpenter and a master mason,” it reads. “This is a large part of why the house still stands today.” (Note to self: hire a pro.)
Fifty-minute tours are available by reservation Friday through Sunday from May through October.
511 East St. Age 18+ $15; kids 7-17 $8. Kids 6 and under free. Seniors $12. fairbankshouse.org
Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House
In Gloucester, Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House was the summer home of Boston-born interior designer Henry Davis Sleeper.
According to Historic New England, the National Historic Landmark, which sits atop a rocky outcrop by the sea, was Sleeper’s “retreat, backdrop for entertaining, professional showcase, and an inspiration to all who visited” including pal Isabella Stewart Gardner. (Even the virtual tour is pure wow factor.) On tour, you’ll see Sleeper’s “lifetime collection of curiosities, colored glass, folk art, china, and silhouettes.”
It opens for tours May 23.
75 Eastern Point Blvd. $25 adults, $22 seniors, $15 students, $10 youth (6 -12).
Colonial homes of Plymouth
Hop a bus to see a few historic homes at once. On May 16, Histoury bus tours offers a four-hour ”Colonial Homes of Plymouth: A Tour of Massachusetts Historic Interiors.” You’ll step inside “several private colonial-era homes,” including the 1684 Nathaniel Church House and the Richmond-Burgess House.
$85; Student (ages 25 and younger): $55. histoury.org
The Olde Manse, Concord
If you fell in love with old Concord after watching “Henry David Thoreau” on PBS recently, or want to learn more about its history after watching Ken Burns’s “American Revolution," then tour The Old Manse (1770). There’s a view of the North Bridge, where the battle of April 19, 1775, took place, the website describes.
The Georgian clapboard home on the banks of the Concord River — where Ralph Waldo Emerson drafted “Nature” — is a living piece of American history, and, as the trustees put it, the “center of Concord’s political, literary, and social zeitgeist for a century.”
“Some of New England’s most esteemed minds found inspiration inside its walls,” the website says. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Emerson both called the Manse home for a time; there’s a recreation of Thoreau’s heirloom vegetable garden.
Tours of the home are available Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m. 269 Monument St., Concord. thetrustees.org
Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough, N.H.
A National Historic Landmark, Castle in the Clouds, aka the Lucknow Mansion, opens for the season May 23 for guided and self-guided tours.
According to site info, Mainer Tom Plant earned his fortune in shoes. In 1913-1914, he and his wife, Olive, built their country estate, Lucknow, “spanning 6,300 acres and featuring a 16-room Arts and Crafts mansion, stable and six-car garage, two gatehouses, a greenhouse, a golf course and tennis court, a offers-made lake, a boathouse on Lake Winnipesaukee, and miles of carriage and bridle trails.”
With 6,300 acres in the mountains, it also offers various guided hikes from May through October.
455 Old Mountain Road. Tours vary. castleintheclouds.org.
Newport’s mansions
The elephant in the room.
You can’t talk historic New England architectural marvels without mentioning the Newport mansions. They weren’t chosen as filming locations for HBO’s “Gilded Age” for nothing. The Rhode Island behemoths make your head spin, wondering: Where on earth did these people live year-round to make them call this a “summer cottage?”
The Breakers (1895), the gilded fleet’s flagship, opened for tours April 28. Check the specific mansion you want to tour before you go. Various tour packages start at $25 adult, $10 youth.
If you’re a fan of HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” you might splurge on a guided “Gilded Age” Tour. Starting May 12, you can learn behind-the-scenes production insights and stories about the mansion residents who “inspired many of the characters” on the Emmy-winning series.
$275 for ages 13+.
Private tours New England-wide
Historic New England, an independent preservation organization, is a font of historic home info and tours. You can book a private tour at properties in any New England state — including more than 20 in Massachusetts. The season kicks off June 6 with an open house (all sites are open for free that day). Here are just a few on view:
- The Codman Estate, (circa 1740), a family country house also known as “The Grange” in Lincoln. Overlooking a farm, the grounds feature a “hidden turn-of-the-century Italian garden with perennial beds, statuary, and a reflecting pool filled with water lilies, as well as a 1930s English cottage garden.” 34 Codman Road.
- The Lyman Estate (1793), also known as “the Vale” in Waltham, is a National Historic Landmark. Fun fact: it was featured in the 2019 film adaptation of “Little Women.” 185 Lyman St.
- Quincy House (1770) in Quincy was built by Revolutionary War leader Josiah Quincy. Tours start May 16. 20 Muirhead St.