Longyear Museum was recently honored with an award from the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance (NHPA). Historic House Manager Rex Nelles and Executive Director Sandy Houston represented Longyear at a May 7 event in Manchester to accept this recognition for “preservation excellence” and high standards in “interpreting historic properties.”
The Alliance made 12 awards to recognize what it called “the demanding rescue and revival of rare and iconic properties, vital re-use of key community buildings …, and robust stewardship over time … .” The Alliance cited Longyear’s three Mary Baker Eddy Historic House sites in New Hampshire—North Groton, Rumney, and Concord—as “models for stewardship” by heritage organizations.
“It’s wonderful to be recognized for our decades of work—and to see the value New Hampshire places on Mrs. Eddy’s history,” says Executive Director Sandy Houston, pointing out that the Museum’s 100-plus years of stewardship started with founder Mary Beecher Longyear’s own commitment to historic preservation, when she purchased the Rumney house in 1920. Since then, Sandy notes, “Countless Longyear staff have cared for these homes, enabling us to share Mrs. Eddy’s story in the very places where she lived and worked.”
