The largest artifact in the museum, this Georgian-style, 2 ½-story timber-framed house was built in the 1760s and stood at 16 Elm Street in the center of Ipswich, Massachusetts, until 1963 when efforts by Ipswich citizens saved it from the bulldozer. The house was carefully taken apart—the frame, chimney, and many other pieces were shipped to the Museum and reassembled.
Today, the house is the centerpiece of the exhibition Within These Walls , and visitors are able to peer through its walls, windows, and doors to view settings played out against the backdrop of Colonial America, the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, the industrial era, and World War II. The exhibition tells the story of five ordinary families, selected from many, who lived in this house over 200 years and made history in their kitchens and parlors, through everyday choices and personal acts of courage and sacrifice.
This square piano was made by Jonas Chickering in Boston, Massachusetts in 1832. During this period, Chickering received capitalization from John Mackay, a wealthy Boston shipping merchant, who assisted also in expanding Chickering’s markets both in America and elsewhere. This piano is serial number 1129 and has a compass of FF-f4, an English double action, leather hammers, double-strings throughout, 2 pedals: all dampers and upper dampers, an iron string plate frame, and a mahogany case.