alden house museum

This is not the actual house the Alden's occupied - well, maybe some of them. The original house built by John and Priscilla is long since gone though you can see a portion of the foundation and thus, where it originally stood. None of the furnishings are original. This is probably only of interest to those who are Alden descendants, which we are.

My husband and I visited Boston, Plymouth and Salem with a wish to connect with my heritage and ancestry. We started with the John Alden house in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Our guide, Matt was wonderful, providing much helpful information on our tour. It was both fun and educational. I would recommend this tour to all who are interested in history and/ or Alden genealogy.

Both my wife and I are Alden decendents; we were therefore very interested in visiting. The design and house layout was particularly interesting. The grounds are worth a stroll as well.

Within the Alden House, which sits in the same property as The Art Complex Museum, there is a small gallery called Vaggvonad. We went to a small mixed media collage art show there. Wonderful. Very intimate space.

My husband's family is descended from the Alden's, so I had been wanting to check out this house for a while. Apparently this is the only estate established by a Mayflower family that has been in the family continuously since the beginning. Now it's run by a trust set up by various Alden descendents. The house is small, but it definitely gives you an idea of how hard life was even for what was one of the first families in the colonies. Parts of it were never modernized or wired for electricity, even though people were living here into the '50s, apparently much like their ancestors! We had a wonderful tour guide who was full of interesting information about the house and the people who lived there. Anyone who likes visiting old houses will find this to be a hidden gem.

It is important to mention that John Alden and his wife Priscilla Mullins came over on the Mayflower which is where they met. The Alden house was left by John to his son Jonathan and was ultimately sold to the Alden Kindred which is managed by Alden descendants. It has never been owned by anyone but the Alden family. There are some items in the house on display that were actually used by John and Priscilla, although most of the decor are reproductions. If you want to experience history that truly takes you back to the beginning of American history this is the place! www.alden.org