Before Bradley Palmer bought the land that became a State Park, it was the Lamson Family farm for over 200 years. Take a stroll to see the remaining farmhouse exterior and other features of the farm. Best for ages 8 years & up.
The historic tour of Willowdale Estate covers historic background, context and conversation about the Arts & Crafts style mansion. Here is your chance to go inside the Willowdale Mansion (willowdaleestate.com) for a unique guided tour. Now an event and wedding venue, this over 100 years-old Arts and Crafts style home has been beautifully restored. The second floor is not accessible. Best for ages 8 years & up.
Experience wealthy attorney Bradley Webster Palmer’s extravagant early 1900s world as you take a 3/4 mile outdoor tour of the mansion, stable, a once celebrated formal garden, and other surviving buildings. Hear how Mr. Palmer donated his 721 acre estate, now Bradley Palmer State Park, to the Commonwealth. Best for ages 8 years & up.
What’s the secret to exploring the magic of the Great Marsh? Getting out on the water! Join park rangers from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and paddling guides along the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge water trail to experience this unique habitat and the species that call it home. This program is free and all gear will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own equipment!
Before power tools: how long did it take a stonecutter to drill a hole with hand-tools? Join us for a demonstration tools and presentation of the granite industry of yesteryear and granite’s use today. Co-sponsored by The Friends of Halibut Point State Park. All ages.
United States Coast Guard Station Gloucester is having an open house and safe boating day! Stop by and learn all about the Coast Guard and its important role in Gloucester. The United States Coast Guard Station Gloucester annual Safe Boating Day Open House will feature local marine vendors, safe boating displays, flare demonstrations, tours of Coast Guard vessels, and more. Free to the public. Recreational boaters, commercial boaters, loads of fun for the kids!
Travel through time with the Jeremiah Lee Mansion in Marblehead! Meghan Boehmer, an historical interpreter from the Boston Tea Party Museum, will portray Sarah Griste Mugford, the wife of Revolutionary naval hero James Mugford.
The tour will include facts about the property & how it was used from the 1920’s through 2012 when the Patton’s donated it to the Town of Hamilton. Marc Johnson, Friends of the Patton Homestead Board Member, and Town liaison, will lead the tour through the stables, past named family trees, and enjoy a walk down to the overlook of the Ipswich River, built with Essex County Greenbelt. The tour will end on the upper patio of the home in time for an author discussion, and a glimpse of the famed “When and If” artifacts hosted by the Wenham Museum at the Patton Family Archive.
Cogswell’s Grant is a coastal farm of 165 acres located along the banks of the Essex River, just two miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. On this walking tour, explore Cogswell’s Grant’s landscape history, from the presence of indigenous people through the colonial period to the present. Walk through hayfields down to the salt marsh and the Essex River, discover the rich history of the people and families who lived and farmed here, and learn how coastal farming has evolved over the centuries.
Learn about the history of iron making at the Saugus Iron Works Museum. Exhibits include artifacts excavated during the archaeological dig performed on-site in the 1940s-1950s. See the original 17th century blast furnace waterwheel, an anvil base and hammer head from the original forge, and other tools and items from the 1600s. The museum also includes Native American artifacts that predate European settlement by thousands of years. This is a Trails & Sails event.
