Historic Site sights in New England
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Frost Place
A few miles north of Franconia Notch lies the farm where poet Robert Frost (1874–1963) wrote his most famous poems, 'The Road Not Taken' and 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.' The farmhouse retains the simplicity and inspiration of Frost's day.
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Hildene
Just south of Manchester, this 24-room Georgian Revival mansion was the country estate of Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. You can tour the mansion decorated with original Lincoln family furnishings and stroll its lovely gardens, though don't expect much to be in bloom before June.
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Portland Observatory Museum
History buffs won't want to miss this hilltop museum, built in 1807 as a maritime signal station to direct ships entering the bustling harbor. Its function was roughly on par with that of an airport traffic control tower today. From the top of this observatory, the last of its kind remaining in the USA, you'll be rewarded with a sweeping view of Casco Bay.
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USS Cassin Young
This 376ft WWII destroyer is one of 14 Fletcher-class destroyers built at the Charlestown Navy Yard. These were the Navy’s fastest, most versatile ships. Cassin Young participated in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf, as well as the 1945 invasion of Okinawa. Here, the ship sustained two kamikaze hits, leaving 23 crew members dead and many more wounded. These days she has been completely refurbished, as you can see during a free, 45-minute tour, or if you choose to wander around the main deck on your own.
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Ether Dome
On October 16, 1846, Thomas WG Morton administered ether to the patient Gilbert Abbott, while Dr John Collins Warren cut a tumor from his neck. It was the first use of anesthesia in a surgical procedure and it happened in this domed operating room in Mass General Hospital.
The dome looks like a typical, old-fashioned hall used for lectures and medical demonstrations, up to and including the skeleton hanging in the corner. The dome is still used today for meetings and lectures, so it is sometimes closed to the public.
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Cambridge Common
There’s a lot to Harvard Sq besides the university: it’s a hotbed of Colonial and revolutionary history. Opposite the main entrance to Harvard Yard, Cambridge Common is the village green where General Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775. The traffic island at the south end, known as Dawes Island, pays tribute to the ‘other rider’ William Dawes, who rode through here on April 18, 1775, to warn that the British were coming (look for bronze hoof prints embedded in the sidewalk).
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Burnham Tavern
Although Machias proper hosts a branch of the University of Maine, it’s not a place to spend any time. However, its beautiful neighbors, East Machias and Machiasport, are worthy of some attention. Machiasport, in fact, is where the first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War took place. After the king of England received the Declaration of Independence from the colonies, he sent a frigate to Machiasport to monitor the timely collection and transportation of lumber to Portland to build his ships. But a few drunken American colonists at Burnham Tavern decided to pay the frigate a visit before they could reach shore. After killing the English captain with a single shot…
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Mayflower II
If Plymouth Rock tells us little about the Pilgrims, Mayflower II speaks volumes. Climb aboard this replica of the small ship in which they made the fateful voyage, where 102 people lived together for 66 days as the ship passed through stormy North Atlantic waters. Actors in period costume are often on board, recounting harrowing tales from the journey.
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Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
In the summer of 1885, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens rented an old inn near the town of Cornish and came to this beautiful spot in the Connecticut River Valley to work. He returned summer after summer, and eventually bought the place in 1892. The estate, where he lived until his death in 1907, is now open to the public as the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site. Saint-Gaudens is best known for his public monuments, such as the Sherman Monument in New York’s Central Park and the Adams Memorial in Rock Creek Park in Washington DC. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the Robert Gold Shaw Memorial across from the State House in Boston. Recasts of all of these…
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Salem Maritime National Historic Site
The witch phenomenon obscures Salem’s true claim to fame: its glory days as a center for clipper-ship trade with China, started by Elias Hasket Derby. The Salem Maritime National Historic Site comprises the customhouse, the ship Friendship and the wharves, as well as other buildings along Derby St that are remnants of the shipping industry once thriving along this stretch of Salem.
In all, the site comprises 10 different historic locations within a two-block area. Check in at the visitor center for a schedule of ranger-led tours.
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Old City Hall
This monumental French Second Empire building occupies a historic spot. Out front, a plaque commemorates the site of the first public school, Boston Latin, founded in 1635 and still operational in Fenway. The hopscotch sidewalk mosaic, City Carpet, marks the spot where Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Charles Bulfinch were educated.
Statues of Benjamin Franklin, founding father, and Josiah Quincy, second mayor of Boston, stand inside the courtyard. They are accompanied by a life-sized replica of a donkey, symbol of the Democratic Party. (‘Why the donkey?’ you wonder. Read the plaque to find out.) Two bronze footprints ‘stand in opposition.’
The…
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