Christmas at the Manse

Step back in time and explore this historic home decorated for the holiday season and learn about its storied past!

On this 45-minute tour we explore the history of the house and the people who lived there as well as how they observed Christmas and how it changed over time. Built in 1770, the house overlooks the historic battlefield where the first shots of the American Revolutionary War were fired. Years later it, served as a home for philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, and later artist Sophia Peabody and her husband, writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Hawthornes lived at a time of transition when people in New England were creating new traditions and ways to celebrate Christmas.