History in Massachusetts

Discover 48 places to experience unusual history in Massachusetts.

Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History

Weston, Massachusetts

Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History

The oldest philatelic museum in the United States.

Framingham, Massachusetts

The Old Field of 1800

Two stone markers honor the Nipmuc people who first settled here millennia ago.

Souther Tide Mill with Neponset River view

Quincy, Massachusetts

Souther Tide Mill

This mill played a key role in the region’s development and it is just one of ten along the east coast of the United States.

Westborough, Massachusetts

Birthplace of Eli Whitney

The birthplace of the man who patented the cotton gin and pioneered interchangeable parts.

Weston, Massachusetts

Golden Ball Tavern

This historic Massachusetts tavern played a critical role in the start of the American Revolution.

Lexington, Massachusetts

Prince Estabrook Memorial Plaque

This stone in Lexington honors a formerly enslaved man who fought during the American Revolution.

Medford, Massachusetts

Sagamore John Burial Monument

The monument is inscribed, "To Sagamore John and those Mystic Indians Whose Bones Lie Here”.

Wayside Inn

Sudbury, Massachusetts

Wayside Inn

The oldest continuously-operated inn in the United States, once owned by Henry Ford.

Natick, Massachusetts

Horatio Alger House

The American author whose "rags-to-riches" stories were popular during the Gilded Age.

World's End

Hingham, Massachusetts

World's End

Plans for this peninsula included houses, the United Nations Headquarters, and a nuclear power plant. When none of them worked out, it became an expansive park.

Boston, Massachusetts

Chow Manderien's Grave

The final resting place of the first documented Chinese person in the United States lies in a Boston cemetery.

The sitting room with view of the studio floor.

Stockbridge, Massachusetts

Chesterwood

Take a step inside the picturesque studio of America’s most renowned sculptor.

Charles Dickens Door and Mirror

Boston, Massachusetts

Charles Dickens' Door and Mirror

These items are all that remain from the room used by the author during his second tour of the U.S.

Ireland Unfree Will Never Be At Peace Mural

Boston, Massachusetts

Ireland Unfree Will Never Be At Peace Mural

One of the few remaining monuments dedicated to South Boston's Irish heritage.

Fort Norumbega

Weston, Massachusetts

Norumbega Tower

This tower pays homage to a legendary Viking fort established in Massachusetts that never really existed.

Smith School.

Boston, Massachusetts

Smith Court

In the 19th century, this was the center of Boston's Black community.