A Treasury of Massachusetts House Museums and Local History Orgs Part I What is a House Museum

A conversation led by William Hosley, Terra Firma Northeast

Massachusetts has more house museums and historical organizations than most states twice our size. In recent years there’s been a national conversation about the sustainability of house museums. Our presenter argues that this widespread, mostly small class of museums vary tremendously. While many of our community-based historical organizations preserve and present their collections in historic houses, a house museum is something different. We will hear from three outstanding ones that are grappling with the usual challenges of audience engagement, preservation and interpretation.