Stoughton, Massachusetts
About the Tour
While living here as a guest of the Wentworth family between 1868 and 1870, Mary Baker Eddy continued to expand her early teaching and practice of Christian healing. But mostly, she was focused on drafting copious notes and texts that set down her growing understanding of Christian Science.
Longyear tour guides will introduce you to the labors and achievements of a remarkable woman who would go on to become one of the most famous in the United States. You’ll also learn about details of day-to-day life in the mid-19th century and have the opportunity to visit a shoemaking shop on the property—one of the few local examples of a cobbler’s shed surviving the cottage-industry era.
Tour duration: 45 minutes
Location
133 Central St.
Stoughton,
MA
02072
Admission
Adults (18+): $10
Youths (7–17): $5
Children (under 7): Free
Members: Free (View membership information.)
For groups of 10 or more, or if you have questions, please call 617.278.9000.
Hours
May 1 through Oct. 31:
Open by appointment.
Please call 617.278.9000 to schedule a tour.
Minimum 72-hour (three-day) notice required.
Closed Saturday, June 13
Directions and Parking
Address:
133 Central St.
Stoughton,
MA
02072
Parking:
Free parking is available.
Frequently Asked Questions
This house is not accessible. The tour involves standing, walking, some climbing of stairs, and only limited opportunity for sitting. If you will be accompanied by a service animal, please indicate this when you purchase tickets.
Backpacks and large bags are not permitted.
Food or drinks, including water bottles and children’s drink containers, are not permitted inside the house.
Yes. Photography taken with a handheld device is permitted for personal use. Flash photography is not allowed, nor is the use of selfie sticks. No photos or videos, whether of the inside or outside, may be used or published in print or online for any commercial or academic purposes without permission. Professional/commercial photographers and members of the media should contact the Office of Communication at 617.278.9000, Ext. 250.
Strollers are not permitted in the house, and parents should plan on carrying very young children during the tour.
Free parking is available.
Minimum 72-hour (three-day) notice is required. Tickets purchased are non-refundable but can be transferred to a different date. For assistance transferring your ticket, please call us at 617.278.9000.
The tour will begin at the front door. We recommend arriving at least 10 minutes ahead of your scheduled tour time.
More Mary Baker Eddy Historic Houses
The Story
In late 1868, after staying in a series of boarding houses and friends’ homes following her landmark healing of injuries sustained in a serious accident, Mary Baker Eddy—then known as Mrs. Glover—arrived at this country home south of Boston. As a guest of the Wentworth family, her stay would provide a much-needed year-and-a-half respite from all the packing and unpacking.
Alanson Wentworth’s wife, Sally, invited Mrs. Eddy to live here in exchange for instruction in the art of Christian healing—after which Sally eagerly took up the work on her own. Healing others through prayer provided her with a purpose and an income for the rest of her life.
Here in Stoughton, Mrs. Eddy’s own treatments through prayer healed Alanson Wentworth of sciatica, healed Sally of a chronic throat ailment, healed one of their daughters of partial deafness, and healed neighbors of enteritis, pulmonary disease, and addiction to medicinal drugs.
In the evenings, Mrs. Eddy happily joined in the Wentworth family life—dinner-table conversations, singing around the pianoforte, reading, and playing games with the children.
But most of her time in this house was spent writing notes and texts on the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures. While living here, Mrs. Eddy worked on her manuscript used for teaching, which eventually evolved into The Science of Man, a pamphlet published in 1876. This pamphlet would become the basis for the chapter “Recapitulation” in the third edition of the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Years Mary Baker Eddy Lived Here
1868–70
Highlight
Her 18-month sojourn in this house provided Mrs. Eddy the time and space to write her first teaching manuscript.
House Fact
Hiram Crafts, Mrs. Eddy’s first student, was a cobbler who worked in the small cobbler’s shop on the Wentworth property.
The House
The smaller wing of the Wentworth house was built circa 1840. The larger Greek-revival wing facing the road was added not many years later. Like some of his neighbors, Alanson Wentworth was a farmer and shoemaker. In summer, he farmed. In winter, he made heels, soles, uppers, and other shoe parts for factories in nearby cities like Brockton and Taunton. His restored shoemaking shop still stands on the property—one of the few local examples of a 12-by-12 cobbler’s shed surviving from that cottage-industry era.
Museum founder and historic preservation pioneer Mary Beecher Longyear located this house in 1920, but it was not for sale at the time. In 1961, when it was given to Longyear Museum, the house no longer looked as it did when it was the Wentworth family’s home in the mid-1800s. Today, the house has been restored to represent the 1860s, when Mrs. Eddy lived here.
