Inside the Bartlett Museum of Amesbury |
GUIDED
Our new favorite small museum is a “grammas’ attic” of historical, ornithological, and archaeological curiosities. We’re talking about the
Open weekends limited hours Memorial Day to Labor Day
Official web site
We often passed by the old
The small downstairs exhibit is largely untouched since it first went up in the late 1960s. It needs tlc, conservation, and modern redesign, but there are some interesting objects here. Upstairs is a real treat. Floor to ceiling cases are stuffed with a wide variety of local birds, including an extinct passenger pigeon. Dated? Yes, but wonderfully reminiscent of turn-of-the-century natural history collections, and this one is intact and unspoiled, though equally in need of future conservation and curatorial work.
Upstairs also includes a wonderfully reconstructed classroom where kids can pretend they are attending school a century ago – and has it changed? This was originally the
Around back in a wooden outbuilding are spectacularly restored carriages. Amesbury was the heart of carriage and sleigh-making. The industry survived into the early years of the automobile era before the factories closed in the early twentieth century. The school was named for Dr. Josiah Bartlett, the city’s other famous son, who went on to sign the Declaration of Independence for
At the amazingly low admission rate of $3 ($1 for seniors and students), there’s no better bargain for an enjoyable hour of artifact viewing. We suggest signing up as a $10 member today.
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Photos by J. Dennis Robinson