Within These Walls
This website is based on an exhibition that opened at the National Museum of American History in May 2001. Objects pictured here may differ from those currently on view at the museum.
Discover five of the families who lived in this house from the colonial era to World War II.
They weren’t famous, but the choices they made shaped their community and the nation.
American Colonists 1757—1772
For Abraham and Sarah Choate, this house was a sign of prosperity in a thriving New England community.
the Dodges and Chance Bradstreet
Revolutionaries 1777—1789
The Dodges' household and the nation faced fateful questions about freedom.
Reformers 1835—1865
In the parlor of their home, the Caldwells joined the battle against slavery.
Immigrants 1870—1890
Irish immigrant Catherine Lynch and her daughter Mary rented this house as a home and workplace.
Home Front 1941—1945
Mary Scott and her family shared the nation's struggle during World War II.
