City: Harvard, MA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (978) 456-3924

Address: 102 Prospect Hill Rd.

Description: Located on the former site of Fruitlands, the short-lived utopian community experiment that took place here in 1843, this scenic small museum focuses on the history of the Nashua River valley. The Fruitlands Farmhouse is the main museum, focusing on transcendentalism and Fruitlands’ Alcott connection (Bronson Alcott, the father of Louisa May Alcott, was one of Fruitlands’ leaders). The museum also has on site a 1796 Shaker house that was moved here from nearby, with exhibits on Shaker life. Other buildings in the complex include a Native American Gallery, which showcases artifacts from local Native people including a longhouse and a dugout canoe. The Art Gallery has several fine Hudson River valley paintings (including one from Albert Bierstadt) and a large collection of New England primitive portraiture. The museum grounds are criss-crossed with 3 miles of marked trails with views of fields, meadows, and rolling hills not unlike when the Alcotts lived here.