The Jeremiah Lee Mansion

"I'm a Salem resident and I am on a mission to tour all the local attractions AND historical sites. About this one: This mansion is a hidden gem in the heart of the quaint, coastal town of Marblehead. Built in 1768 for wealthy merchant Jeremiah Lee, acquired later by a bank, it is now a museum with guided tours, open seasonally. I have visited many historic houses over the years, and this one just became one of my favorite! Almost all its room are open to the public on all three floors - which is not common - and fully furnished with period pieces curated to the detail. I saw here objects that I've hardly or never seen in other houses, such as (and not limited to) several nursery-related items, drinking glass coolers, water buckets to use to stop fires, sewing supplies, special vases for crocuses etc. On the third floor there is "museum inside the museum" with a special room showcasing unique objects manufactured or crafted in Marblehead. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and sweet. The day I visited, we were only 3 people in the tour, and it lasted about an hour. If you are visiting Salem, this mansion is just a  quick car ride from downtown Salem. I recommend it especially if you are visiting the North Shore because you are interested in the local Maritime/nautical history. PRO Everything that I said before! It is a extremely well preserved - and clearly loved by its community - historic house definitely worth visiting. CONs Open only seasonally. Finding a parking spot near the house might be a bit hard on busier times of the day. There is a small parking area adjacent to the garden of the mansion, but it is not for visitors only. The other option is street parking, that in Marblehead, with its narrow and twisty roads, is not always that easy."

"This is the most amazing historical house we have ever toured! My husband and I are history buffs, and we have traveled and toured historical sites all over the US. This house is huge, and we were blown away by how we got to see the majority of rooms/stairwells/levels. Our tour guide also took extra time with us to answer our children's questions. We have 6 kids, and all of them really learned so much from the experience. We would highly recommend this place to everyone!"

"This historic museum was amazing. I went on the field trip on this twice. This is one of the amazing places to learn about the American History. We were able to go in the museum and have a tour of what's inside of it. There were a lot of historic items that were uses in the Jeremiah Lee Mansion. This is an amazing place to visit."

"We love touring old houses and this was one of our favorite tours. Michelle was fantastic."

"Our first stop on our first visit to Marblehead and we weren’t disappointed. There was a local gingerbread house contest that had gone on the day before so we got to experience a lot of local talent mixed in with some great historical architecture. We will definitely return when we can see more of the house than just the first floor!"