‘If This House Could Talk’ returns for 10th year

Reprinted from the Newburyport Daily News on March 14, 2026

NEWBURYPORT — While still months away, folks interested in including their property in this year’s iteration of “If This House Could Talk” are being urged to dive into the story of their home.

“The event happens the last week of July, but people really have to start thinking about putting the story together usually around March or April,” organizer Jack Santos said. “They may have to go to a library or do some research if they’re into it.”

This year will be the 10th anniversary of “If This House Could Talk,” set to go from July 26 to Aug. 2.

Always held during the week of Yankee Homecoming, and sponsored this year by the Newburyport Preservation Trust, it is an event that sees homeowners do a bit of research on their home in order to create a sign telling a story from its history.

“In June, I’m going to be at the senior center,” Santos said. “I’m going to give a talk about how I’ve shortcutted and come up with some really easy ways using the archives of The Daily News at the library. Once you get a name, if you can find out somebody who lived there in 1858, you can go to The Daily News, look up their names, and you get some amazing stories sometimes.”

To celebrate 10 years, Santos said they will throw together an anniversary book.

“Every two years, we put a book together. You can get it like at Jabberwocky or online on Amazon, and they are pictures of the posters and pictures of the houses,” Santos said.

He said this year for the 10th anniversary, they will be feature all past participants.

“We’ll include every house that’s ever participated since 2016,” Santos said. “So it’s going to be a big book, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. That will come out toward September, a month or two after the event.”

Another aspect of the event is that it will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the country. “So we’re going to focus on some homes where Revolutionary War veterans lived and their stories,” Santos said.

Local participant Mary Eaton called the multi-day event “a simple and brilliant idea.”

“A phenomenal way to engage everyone in Newburyport’s story, especially the historic district — an idea that that brings people in the city together,” Eaton said.

With her home built in 1958, she said she has loved being part of the growing tradition.

“And what is so unusual about this idea, is that old or new in Newburyport, every home matters,” Eaton said. “This is inclusive, not exclusive. And it’s an idea that’s about people, not just architecture, and I think that’s why the idea went practically viral over night and has lasted so many years.”

Folks interested in getting their home involved should visit walknewburyport.com.

“There it’s got basically 10 years of blog posts – everything you ever wanted to know about how to do this,” Santos said. “That’s a good place to start. It’s not like we have a real formula for the signs that people put up. Anything goes.”

Asked what his favorite part of the event is, Santos said he loves bumping into friends and strangers as they go from home to home.

“It’s a real community event that engenders the community in Newburyport,” Santos said. “It makes us appreciate not only the houses, but the people that lived in them. That’s the important part to me – keeping the stories of these people that have lived in Newburyport since 1764 alive, which is really cool.”

There is no deadline to sign up. Go to the Walk Newburyport Website for more details.