Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Methuen (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Lawrence Street Cemetery, and Greycourt State Park. Also, be sure to include First Baptist Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Methuen (Massachusetts).
Table of Contents
Methuen Memorial Music Hall
Non-profit organization in Methuen, Massachusetts. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, initially named Searles Organ Hall, was built by Edward Francis Searles to house "The Great Organ", a very large pipe organ that had been built for the Boston Music Hall. The hall was completed in 1909, and stands at 192 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts.[1]
Address: 192 Broadway, 01844-3044 Methuen (Methuen)
Lawrence Street Cemetery
Cemetery. The Lawrence Street Cemetery, or more commonly known as "the Village Burying Ground", is a historic cemetery on Lawrence Street in Methuen, Massachusetts.
Methuen's third oldest cemetery, it was founded in 1832 when the center of town was shifted west from Meeting House Hill to Gaunt Square. Late in the 19th century, wealthy industrialist Edward Searles built the 8 foot granite wall on the sides facing his estate. In the cemetery rests Searles siblings, parents and wife Mary Hopkins Searles.
The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[2]
Greycourt State Park
State park in Methuen, Massachusetts. Greycourt State Park is a public recreation area covering 24 acres atop the partially restored ruins of the Charles H. Tenney estate in Methuen, Massachusetts. The state park is a satellite of Lawrence Heritage State Park managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the City of Methuen.[3]
First Baptist Church
Church building in Methuen, Massachusetts. First Baptist Church is an historic Baptist church building at 30 Park Street in Methuen, Massachusetts. Built in 1869 for a congregation established in 1815, it is one of the town's finest examples of Carpenter Gothic architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[4]
Address: 30 Park St, 01844-3835 Methuen (Methuen)
First Church Congregational
Building. First Church Congregational is a historic church at Pleasant and Stevens Streets in Methuen, Massachusetts. The stone Gothic Revival structure was built in 1855 for Methuen's first congregation, established in 1729. Its first meeting house was on Daddy Frye's Hill, but moved to the present location in 1832. The present building features granite walls, a slate roof, and a tower with crenellated top and typical Gothic lancet windows. In 1895 the church installed a stained glass representation of Christ's Resurrection designed by John LaFarge.
The church was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and included in the Pleasant-High Historic District in 1984. The current congregation is active in the United Church of Christ. The Rev. William D. Ingraham is its current Senior Pastor.[5]
Address: 26 Pleasant St, 01844-3119 Methuen (Methuen)
Nevins Memorial Library
Public library in Methuen, Massachusetts. The Nevins Memorial Library at 305 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts was built in 1883 to honor David Nevins, Sr. as a memorial gift from his wife Eliza Nevins, his elder son David Nevins, Jr. and his younger son Henry Coffin Nevins. The library is located at 305 Broadway in Methuen and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Nevins Memorial Library offers resources including free Wi-Fi internet access, book clubs, an outreach program to deliver books and media for homebound individuals, and so on. The library is also the custodian of the Nevins Memorial Library Historic Collection, much of which is in storage and for which viewing appointments should be made. The collection includes manuscripts and printed materials, genealogical resources, vital records, assorted objet d'art and collectables, and the stained glass windows of the library itself.[6]
Address: Rte 28, 01844 Methuen (Methuen)
Tenney Castle Gatehouse
The Tenney Castle Gatehouse is a historic gatehouse at 37 Pleasant Street in Methuen, Massachusetts, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1984. It is the only surviving element of the large estate of Charles H. Tenney, a leading local industrialist.[7]
Walnut Grove Cemetery
Cemetery in Methuen, Massachusetts. Walnut Grove Cemetery is a historic cemetery at Grove and Railroads Streets in Methuen, Massachusetts. The still active cemetery sits on 14 acres and is privately funded with a Board of Directors. The cemetery was established in 1853, and was laid out in the then-popular rural cemetery style. The Tenney Memorial Chapel given by the Daniel G. Tenney in 1927 as a memorial to his parents Charles H. Tenney and Fannie Haseltine Tenney. The chapel was designed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury. The earliest burial is estimated to be about 1850; whereas the number of burials before 1960 is unknown, there have been 896 burials since 1960.
The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[8]
Double-arch Sandstone Bridge
Arch bridge in Methuen, Massachusetts. The Double-arch Sandstone Bridge or more commonly known as the Sands Bridge, is a historic dry stone arch bridge over the Spicket River on Hampshire Road in Methuen, Massachusetts. Built without mortar between the stones, parts of it date back to 1735. It was used to handle traffic between Methuen and Salem, New Hampshire.[9]
Daddy Frye's Hill Cemetery
Cemetery. Daddy Frye's Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery at East and Arlington Streets in Methuen, Massachusetts. Established in 1728, it is the city's oldest cemetery, and the only major surviving element of its original town center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The area is also locally known as Meeting House Hill.[10]
George A. Waldo House
The George A. Waldo House is a historic house in Methuen, Massachusetts. Built in 1825 and altered somewhat around 1900 by local philanthropist Edward Searles, it is one of Methuen's finest examples of Federal period architecture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and is currently occupied by the Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home.[11]
Henry C. Nevins Home for Aged and Incurables
Henry C. Nevins Home for Aged and Incurables was built in 1906 in Methuen, Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It and the Nevins Memorial Library, located at 305 Broadway were built by for Henry C. Nevins and his family as a memorial to his father, David C. Nevins, Sr. Both buildings were listed on the National Register on the same day.[12]
House at 306 Broadway
The House at 306 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts is a well-preserved example of a modest Greek Revival house built c. 1830. It is of a type that was somewhat common in Methuen from the 1830s to the 1850s. It is a 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure with its gable end facing the street, but its entry centered on the long side wall. The front was originally three asymmetrically located windows, but this has since been replaced by a virtual wall of five windows. The corners of the house are pilastered in typical Greek Revival fashion, and the gable end has a deep cornice. The main entrance is centered on the five-bay side wall, and features a transom window over the door.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[13]
House at 10 Park Street
10 Park Street is a historic house located in Methuen, Massachusetts. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1984.[14]
G.B. Emmons House
The G.B. Emmons House is a historic house at 283 Broadway in Methuen, Massachusetts. The two story Queen Anne house was built c. 1890 for G.B. Emmons, president of the Emmons Loom Harness Company located in neighboring Lawrence. Although the house is a fairly typical example of a stylish residential house built in Methuen and Lawrence during that time, it occupies a prominent position on a main road near the center of town, and has been well preserved.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[15]
House at 9 Park Street
House at 9 Park Street is a historic house in Methuen, Massachusetts.
According to the assessor's records the house at 9 Park Street was built in 1876 at a value of $950. A notice in the Methuen Transcript says local builder Albert Fales built an addition in 1880. according to an 1885 directory, the first owner was John W. Mann of Tompkins and Mann (paint and oil vendors), 191 Essex Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Mrs. Mann still occupied the house as of 1906.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[16]
Johnson House
The Johnson House is a historic house in Methuen, Massachusetts. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house, five bays wide, with a hip roof and end chimneys. The two bays to the right of the entrance have been replaced by a projecting bay window with Italianate paired brackets at its cornice, and the windows left of the entrance have a curved cornice from the same period. The main entrance portico is also an Italianate addition, with jigsawn entablature and an elaborate door surround with diamond-light sidelight windows. The house was built c. 1830 by Joseph Carleton, and was at that time probably one of the grander Federal style houses in Methuen. By 1885 it was owned by Edward Johnson, a clerk for the Boston and Maine Railroad.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[17]
House at 50 Pelham Street
The house at 50 Pelham Street in Methuen, Massachusetts is a well-preserved Italianate house and barn. Built sometime in the 1870s, the 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house features typical Italianate decorations, including extended bracketed eaves, doubled brackets in the gable eaves, and a round-arch window in the gable end. The barn at the back of the property is a simple wood-frame structure that appears to date to the same period as the house.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[18]
Henry Preston House
The Henry Preston House is a historic house in Methuen, Massachusetts.
Built around 1840, the house was originally built as a one-story house belonging to Henry Preston who had a wheelwright shop next door. Assessor's records indicate that in the 1850s, the house belonged to Enoch A. Merrill, and in 1875 the estate of Enoch A. Merrill was taxed to Joel Foster. The barn, which still exists, appears of the map between 1872 and 1884. Foster, who owned other farm sites in Methuen, was named the leading farmer in Essex County in 1884.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the House at 15–19 Park Street in 1984.[19]
Park Lodge
Park Lodge is a historic house in Methuen, Massachusetts. It is primarily noted for its association with industrialist and philanthropist Edward Searles whose Pine Lodge estate was nearby. Searles, a Methuen native who made a fortune in textiles and the railroad, made major contributions to the development of Methuen around the turn of the 20th century. This Craftsman style house, designed by Henry Vaughan and built in 1910, is a notable architectural element of Searles' legacy. The main block is a 2+1⁄2-story structure with a side-gable roof, which is extended to the left by a 1+1⁄2-story ell and to the front by a two-story projection. A shed-roof porch is in the crook to the left of this projection, and the main entrance is in the leftmost ell. The house is generally finished in stucco, with wooden shingles in the gable ends.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. At that time it was thought that this house incorporated elements of a c. 1840 Greek Revival farmhouse belonging to his father Jesse. However, the Jesse Searles House is now known to have been locate on the Searles estate, and was altered. It is possible that this house also incorporates an older building, because Searles was known to move buildings around. This house was sold out of the Searles family by his heirs after his death in 1920.[20]