This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Tour the Mary Baker Eddy Historic House in Stoughton

The Mary Baker Eddy Historic House at 133 Central Street in Stoughton will again open its doors for guided tours from May 1-October 31, 2014. Tours are available by appointment (48-hour advance notice required).

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, is widely recognized as one of the most influential women in the field of religion. She is the only American woman to found a worldwide religion. She lived in this house with the Wentworth family from 1868 to 1870. While living here, Mrs. Eddy completed her first manuscript on Christian Science, The Science of Man.

In the late 1830s, homeowner Alanson Wentworth added to the small single-story dwelling that had been on the Central Street property since colonial times. The main part of the house is in simple Greek revival design and includes four rooms downstairs and three upstairs. While plain woodwork can be found through most of the house, fluted woodwork in the parlor sets the room apart as a more formal room for entertaining.

A tour of the house includes a visit to the shoe shop where Alanson Wentworth and his sons worked during the winter. The shop is a rare example of a “ten-by,” the typical home workshop used by shoemakers from the late 1700s until the mid-1800s.

Longyear Museum, an independent, historical museum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, owns and maintains this house on Central Street. It is one of eight historic houses in which Mrs. Eddy lived in Massachusetts and New Hampshire that are part of the Longyear Museum collection. For over three-quarters of a century, Longyear Museum has served the public, providing exhibits, publications, and programs about the life and achievements of Mary Baker Eddy.

Suggested donation: $5; Museum members and children under 12: free.

For more information, please visit www.longyear.org/historichouses. To schedule a tour of the Mary Baker Eddy Historic House in Stoughton, please call 800.277.8943, ext. 100.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Stoughton