One Historic Landmark that didn’t become a Museum…
The Field-Hodges House in North Andover, Massachusetts, was completely furnished and packed to the rafters with the accumulated belongings of three generations when its last resident died at 103.
Sarah Moore Field was born there in 1885 and lived there all her life. When she died in 1988 without heirs, she hoped it could become a historic house museum. It could not. A more creative solution was required. Wisteria House: Life in a New England Home, 1839-2000 by Susan J. Montgomery, just published by Rowman & Littlefield, is the final element of that solution. The North Andover Historical Society is hosting an event to celebrate the launch of this book.
As Carol Majahad, former Executive Director of the North Andover Historical Society, stated, the book is a “must-have for all students of material culture, social history, museum studies and anyone who enjoys ‘the story of ordinary lives, extraordinarily preserved.”
Named for the vigorous vine that flourished on the veranda for over 150 years, Wisteria House is a local nickname for the Field-Hodges House. Wisteria is also fit analogy for the tenacious woman who was determined that her family’s legacy be preserved. For fifty years, Miss Field maintained the 1839 house, barn, and gardens, and saved furnishings, clothing, personal items, photographs, letters, and financial records of her upper-middle class grandparents and parents, along with her own.
As a time capsule of a particular family in a particular small town at a particular time, the collection offered a rare glimpse into everyday life in New England. Without the resources to open the house to the public, the trustees decided to distribute many of the objects and archives to over a dozen regional museums including the North Andover Historical Society, Historic New England, the Lawrence History Center, the Peabody Essex Museum and the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. The remaining items were sold at auction to benefit the Field family’s church. Historic New England established preservation restrictions on key architectural elements and decorative finishes, and the property was sold to a private owner, ensuring it would survive.
Wisteria House: Life in a New England Home, 1839-2000 is the permanent record of the occupancy of the house by the Hodges family, from 1839 to 1870, and then the Fields, and concludes with the story of the determined effort by the estate trustees and expert advisors from the North Andover Historical Society and Historic New England to fulfill Miss Field’s intentions.
Both organizations have enthusiastically supported the Field-Hodges House for many years.
NAHS underwrote the publication of Wisteria House: Life in a New England Home, 1839-2000 and is planning a celebratory launch at the Society’s headquarters on April 3. The hardcover book is available at the Society and online (northandoverhistorical.square.site), 188 pages 112 illustrations, $67.50 members, non-members $75.00. Historic New England sponsored a Zoom presentation by Dr. Montgomery on February 17, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. The program is on the Historic New England website (https:my.historicnewengland.org/11338/field-hodges-house). In addition, the Winter 2022 issue of Historic New England magazine will feature “The Legacy of Sarah Moore Field.”
For more information on the book launch, contact the North Andover Historical Society at 978-686-4035 or see Facebook : https://facebook.com/events/s/wisteria-house-book-launch-w-s/329730259118341/