Nathaniel Felton Sr. House

"The history of the Nathaniel Felton Sr. House is quite complex. The land for the property on which the House was built was granted to the Feltons in 1636. The hillside location overlooking settlements along what was then the Waters River was carefully chosen by Nathaniel Felton as a location from which his neighbors could be warned of approaching danger. In 1644, after clearing the land, Nathaniel Felton Sr. built a house on the property. In 1683 an addition was built onto the house by Nathaniel Felton Jr., and in 1746 the two parts of the house were separated and moved to their present locations. After the houses were separated Samuel Felton, a Felton cousin, lived in the house until his death in 1780. The Senior House remained in the Felton family until purchased by the Smith family following the death of Harriet Felton Rhoades in 1918. The house, which is still the oldest standing house in Peabody, was owned and used as a summer home by Janet Smith until her death in 1983 when it was bequeathed for preservation to the Peabody Historical Society. When restoration has been completed, the Peabody Historical Society plans to open the house for tours and educate visitors about life in the early times of our area. Tours would also be available to local school groups. As part of the preparation of the house for accessibility to the public, the old roof has been replaced and the windows are being restored. The needs of the interior of the house including scheduling of the work to be done are now being addressed. The Felton home is open for tours from 11:00AM to 3:00PM on the last Saturday of the month from June to October. Group tours can be arranged any time by calling 978-590-2621.