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The Longyear Fall Tour: Mary Baker Eddy's New England
Longyear's Fall Tour 2009: First-hand impressions
For four days in September, thirty visitors from all over the United States attended Longyear Museum's 2009 Fall Tour of its eight historic houses and other places of significance in the life of Mary Baker Eddy. In the following eighteen snapshots, participants share insights gained through exploring the trail of Mrs. Eddy's life journey. Their impressions of the trip are quoted from the travelers’ evaluation forms and are used with permission.
Longyear Museum
The tour started and finished at Longyear. In the words of one participant, “The whole trip was beautifully organized. Loved the extra research and new information about Mary Baker Eddy. By the end, I felt energized — eager to do even more for the Christian Science movement. The trip resulted in deeper appreciation for Mrs. Eddy and the early workers, and makes the words in Science and Health leap off the page with freshness.”
On the road
From the Museum, the tour bus hit the road to Mrs. Eddy’s birthplace in Bow, New Hampshire. One rider reported: "I really enjoyed the wonderful notebook materials and the sharing of quotes that were read aloud along the way. It gave added life to the written narrative."
Tilton, New Hampshire: the Baker family's hometown
The itinerary included several stops in Tilton, where Mrs. Eddy lived as a teenager and again as a young mother. One member of the group said, “The tour is to help people perceive that Mrs. Eddy’s life was truly a spiritual journey.” 
North Groton, New Hampshire: the Pattersons’ home
The group visited the town where Mrs. Eddy (then Mrs. Patterson) and her husband Daniel had moved to be near her young son. A visitor reported that the "North Groton house had the most impact on me. I could clearly visualize the depth of despair, loneness, betrayal, her lowest ebb — no beauty, even with trees — no peace and quiet — yet she did not give up." Another was impressed by "the growth seen from that little house in North Groton, where she was evicted in tears, to her grand home on Beacon Street...."
North Groton, New Hampshire: the one-room schoolhouse
This year's itinerary included the little school sometimes attended by Mrs. Eddy's (then Mrs. Patterson) 11-year-old son, George Glover, Jr. The one-room schoolhouse is a few hundred feet down the road from Daniel and Mary Patterson's house on Hall's Brook Road. For the first time, the schoolhouse was opened by the Groton Historical Society for Longyear's Fall Tour. 
Rumney, New Hampshire: the Pattersons' home
At the Pattersons’ house in Rumney, visitors heard poems written by Mrs. Patterson (later Mrs. Eddy) after she arrived there in 1860, that expressed her experience in her previous home in North Groton. One listener said, "The trip for me was about cultivating deeper appreciation for Mrs. Eddy and her work. Seeing the sites helped form a context for what I was doing; the atmosphere of the trip brought the discovery to life."
Concord, New Hampshire: 62 North State Street
On Day Two, the group was in Concord, where Mrs. Eddy lived for nearly twenty years while she established The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. A member of the group said: "The talk at 62 North State St. and the tour of Longyear Museum gave me new information about her life." Another said: "Got a better picture of her growth and the growth of Christian Science."
First Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord
The visit to this church, built in 1904 with funds provided by Mrs. Eddy, included a guided tour of the church and a short hymn sing. A participant observed: "Mrs. Eddy helped build the Concord church, but then she left it to the members. In each place, she pitched in and got very involved when she was there, but expected her followers to carry on together and individually after she moved on. This was a general lesson from the tour, but it dawned on me in Concord."
Concord, New Hampshire: site of Mrs. Eddy’s home, Pleasant View
The party visited the site of Mrs. Eddy’s former home, Pleasant View, where she lived from 1892 until 1908. The house was razed in 1917, and in its place stands the Pleasant View Retirement Home, an assisted-living facility with no connection to Christian Science. Here the tour group walked the grounds and watched Longyear’s documentary film, “Who Shall Be Called?” The Pleasant View Household: Working and Watching.
Mary Baker Eddy historic sites in Massachusetts
Heading south to Massachusetts for Days Three and Four, the tour stopped at Longyear's historic houses in Swampscott, Amesbury, Stoughton, and Lynn; Red Rock in Lynn (pictured above); a driving tour of Boston’s South End district — site of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in the 1880s; Mrs. Eddy’s memorial at Mt. Auburn Cemetery; Mrs. Eddy’s last home at 400 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill; and a Sunday service and guided tour at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. A member of the entourage commented, "So many things really touched, inspired me at each stop. Mrs. Eddy’s devotion, fierce focus, humility, courage, recognition and acceptance of her mission, her total love of and trust in God — all so reinforced on this trip. A nudge for me to do more."
Swampscott, Massachusetts: the Newhall house
The group passed through the apartment where Mrs. Eddy (then Mrs. Patterson) experienced the healing that was pivotal to her discovery of Christian Science. One visitor said, "The Swampscott house was a profound experience. It was such a turning point in our Leader’s life. I am grateful for the opportunity to 'be there' and reflect on what Mrs. Eddy’s healing in that place" led to.
Amesbury, Massachusetts: Squire Bagley house
“One of the things that really inspired me was that between 1866 and 1875, from the fall on the ice to the first edition of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy moved at least twenty times. It really just made me think about how focused she was on her prayer and study and writing and healing during these nine years. Her humility, perseverance, and love for humanity just poured out. Mrs. Eddy refers to ‘home’ nearly 120 times in her writings, and I will never read those lines the same again.”
Stoughton, Massachusetts: the Wentworth house
One visitor was interested to learn that, during “her stay with the Wentworths in Stoughton, Mrs. Eddy was able to take time from her Bible study and writing to enjoy the children and their friends, showing her great love of home and family." Another noted her "constant striving to teach, to heal, and to express humility — especially at the Wentworths’."
Lynn, Massachusetts: Mrs. Eddy’s home, 8 Broad Street
A member of the group remarked, "Learning in Lynn that only thirteen pages were written there burst a long-standing misconception that Mrs. Eddy had a serene, stable spot [in which] to write Science & Health. Rather, she had to persist, as she moved often, taught students, interacted with host families, and juggled her lap desk in her tiny quarters. I gained a greater appreciation for Mrs. Eddy’s devotion to the divine purpose that spanned an outwardly turbulent series of events." Another said, it "gave me an appreciation for the sacrifice Mary Baker Eddy made in sharing her vision with the world."
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts: Mrs. Eddy’s last home, 400 Beacon Street
"All the places we visited I found important, as they illustrated collectively how obedient Mrs. Eddy was in following each step God directed her to take. Perfect example of how she walked by faith, not by sight." Said another: "Chestnut Hill represented the graciousness of our Leader — the home was designed in a thoughtful way for Mrs. Eddy and her household helpers."
Boston, Massachusetts: The Mother Church, Original Edifice
“Both the Original Edifice and Chestnut Hill revealed so much about Mrs. Eddy’s true identity, and that comforts and inspires me.”
“This trip had a profound effect on me…”
“This 4-day trip had a profound effect on me and my commitment to Christian Science.… I am so grateful I went on this trip!”
