The Browne House, c. 1698, Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts

I was very happy to finally visit this historic New England house. After several years of renovation work done on it, it re-opened to visitors in 2022. Finally, on September 17, 2023, I went. There was a nice group of about 10.

Brown House

562 Main Street (Route 20)

Watertown, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts

Phone: 617-994-6660

Website: https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/browne-house/

Views from Main Street, Watertown, Massachusetts.

From the webpage of HistoricNewEngland.org is this description, "Built between 1694 and 1701 for a farming family, Browne House contains rare surviving architectural features from the late 1600s. In a near ruinous state when it was acquired by Historic New England founder William Sumner Appleton in 1919, the house was painstakingly restored in what is acknowledged to be the first fully documented restoration in America. See how a late 1600s family lived in what was considered a “mansion house” at the time." "There is one large room on the first floor, which incorporated living, cooking, and sleeping space. The upper chamber contains an extremely rare three-part casement window frame."

All my photos below are rather dark because there is limited lighting. You'll see a few small lamps providing lighting. I'm very glad it was a sunny day, and I'm not sure how much you would see if it wasn't. In addition, the photos were taken only on the first floor, I was afraid to walk up the stairs. This was the last of the four historic houses I visited in 2023.

I love the virtual tour of this house at https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=o5zZ9ogUVQX   You'll be able to see both floors, so now I know what was on the second floor.

Everybody enjoyed themselves, especially one lady who was related to the original Browne family. She and her family drove down from Maine to tour this. Electricity or not, they were thrilled.

The Chinese House, a Fashion and Design Exhibit and a surprise at the Essex Peabody Museum in Salem, Massachusetts

 

The Peabody Essex Museum Salem, Massachusetts

The Chinese House can be seen in a 30-minute free self-guided tour of the 200-year-old house. This has been a permanent attraction for almost 20 years. On this April 10, 2023 day, The tour had about 12 people. (See flyer below.) See the museum link for more information.

Looking down on the first floor. I was the only one in this group who went to the second floor.

Second floor.

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Interior courtyard for relaxing, getting something to eat, gift shop, and using the restroom.

Fashion and Design is another exhibit. See more information on their link.

Different styles of shoes through the ages.

This was a nice surprise. It's a view from the museum to the Charter Street Cemetery (very historic) in Salem. From this view, you can see some old tombstones. Map below.