The Brocklebank–Nelson–Beecher House (circa 1668) is a First Period Colonial house located at 108 East Main Street (Route 133),

Georgetown, Massachusetts Georgetown is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,470 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1838 from part of Rowley, Massachus ...

. It is now a nonprofit museum owned by the Georgetown Historical Society. An admission fee is charged.

History

In 1661, the house's land was granted to Captain Samuel Brocklebank, a surveyor who had come from England in 1638. It is believed that Brocklebank built the house shortly after his marriage in 1668, near a brook where he had kept cattle penned previously. Brocklebank, a captain in the militia, was killed with his entire company in Sudbury in 1676 in a skirmish with Indians during King Philip's War. The house remained within the family until 1754, when it was acquired by Dudley Tyler for use as a tavern, which use continued under Solomon Nelson who purchased the property in 1767. In 1858 the house was bought by Rev

Charles Beecher Charles Beecher (October 1, 1815 – April 21, 1900) was an American minister, composer of religious hymns and a prolific author. Early life Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the fifth child of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congr ...

, brother of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

and

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...

. In 1880 the house was purchased by M. G. Spofford and in 1931 by furniture manufacturer Everett Spaulding, a tenth generation Brocklebank descendant who sold the property to the Society in 1975.

Present description

The original house was extended several times in its early years, and is now a gambrel roofed, 5-bay, center chimney dwelling of early eighteenth-century appearance. A number of items are exhibited within, including many of Capt. Brocklebank's journals. There are also many historically accurate pieces within as well as a display of a small back yard shoe shop.

External links

Brocklebank Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocklebank-Nelson-Beecher House Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Essex County, Massachusetts Houses in Georgetown, Massachusetts Beecher family Buildings and structures completed in 1668 Colonial architecture in Massachusetts