Newton History Museum

CONTACT:

527 Washington Street
Newton, MA 02458
(617) 796-1450
newtonhistorymuseum.org

David Olson, Director

DESCRIPTION:

The Newton History Museum and Historical Society at the Jackson Homestead preserves the city's past in order to edify and encourage discussion of Newton's present and future.

The Museum is located in an 1809 Federal-style farmhouse donated to the city in 1949 by the Jackson family, which settled in Newton in the 17th century. Brothers Francis and William, two prominent members of the clan, were both proponents of railroad expansion and active abolitionists in the 1800s. William opened the homestead as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The Newton History Museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1992. Today it highlights the city's history of anti-slavery activity, its current diversity and its continuing commitment to human rights. It has been named to the National Underground Railroad Millennium Trail and the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

The Museum's Strategic Plan is to increase public awareness of its value in drawing the community together, by programs that will do just that. You can help this worthy institution continue to serve its community in new ways.

(2001: CULTURE: Education: Informal: Historic Preservation)