New Atwood Park sign with the women responsible for it.

New sign tells history of Atwood Park

Due to the efforts of four local researchers and historians, a new informational sign was installed this month at Atwood Park to honor Margaret Atwood, an 18th century Newburyport woman who was an indominable merchant, ship owner, landlord and philanthropist. Posted on the southeast side the park, the sign provides information about Atwood and the…

How a Row House Changed Beck Street

How a Row House Changed Beck Street

The five-unit row house from 5-13 Beck St. is a good example of the multiple-family residences built throughout Newburyport during the prosperity of the textile mills. The James Steam Mills was just a short distance away on Charles Street. Built as an investment property by Sewell B. Noyes in 1877, all units were individually sold…

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House Research Workshop

More than 70 history buffs got the inside scoop on where to look when tracing the background of a historic house on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Museum of Old Newbury. Longtime researcher Ellie Bailey, who researches old houses for the Newburyport Preservation Trust’s historic house plaque program, kicked off the presentation of “Researching Your…

The Pink House Newbury MA

The Complex History of the Pink House

If you ask people what they know about the history of the Pink House, you may hear the story of it being a “spite house”  – a replica of a house built on a forsaken piece of land as part of a nasty divorce settlement.  The complete story, while still unseemly, is a bit more complex and has been corroborated by two independent research efforts.

The Old Ladies’ Home on Olive Street

The Old Ladies’ Home on Olive Street

The house on the north corner of Olive and Russia Streets in Newburyport, 22 Olive Street, is a classic example of mid-19th-century architecture. It is a substantial two-story brick house originally built by Moody Pearson in 1838 for his family of eight. Moody Pearson started his career selling fish, wheat, wood, and vegetables on John…