Historic New England's Dole-Little House

Historic New England's Dole-Little House Dole-Little House is open for guided tours on select Saturdays from June through October. Visit HistoricNewEngland.org for more information.

Dole-Little House was built around 1715 with materials salvaged from an earlier structure. Its first owner was Richard Dole, a cattleman, who built a two-room, central-chimney house with a small kitchen shed at the rear. This shed has since been replaced with a larger lean-to. Decorative carpentry and finishes include chamfered edges, molded sheathing (especially in the hall and parlor), and possi

bly original stair balusters. Acquired by Florence Evans Bushee in 1954, the house was subject to an extensive restoration. Workers discovered that new mortise and tenon joints and various other changes had been made to many of the salvaged framing members to allow them to conform to the plan of the "new" house. During restoration efforts, the lean-to was rebuilt with new timbers, and sash windows from the front of the house were reinstalled in the lean-to. Decorative paneling from one of the chambers was removed and reinstalled in the National Museum of History and Technology in Washington, D.C., while a reproduction of the paneling was installed in the chamber at Dole-Little House. Historic New England received the title to the house after Mrs. Bushee's death in 1975.

2016 Schedule
June 4, free admission
October 1
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Admission
$6 adults
$5 seniors
$3 students
Free for Historic New England members and Newbury residents

Directions: Dole-Little House is on Route 1A just before the Parker River Bridge. Parking: There is a small lot in front of the house, and on-street parking is permitted for short periods of time.

It’s Open House day at Historic New England. We are open for free tours and stamping passports from 11-2 PM! Historic Ne...
06/06/2026

It’s Open House day at Historic New England. We are open for free tours and stamping passports from 11-2 PM! Historic New England

From historic homes to gathering spaces rooted in community history, Sheila Spalding helps visitors connect with Newbury...
05/20/2026

From historic homes to gathering spaces rooted in community history, Sheila Spalding helps visitors connect with Newbury’s many stories in thoughtful and creative ways.

We’re excited to feature Sheila in Historic New England’s Meet Your Site Managers series as we count down to Open House on June 6!

As we prepare to welcome visitors to for the open season, we invite you to get to know the people who make our tours and events so special.

05/02/2026
04/17/2026

On Saturday, June 6, 2026, our historic sites across the region are open and FREE to the public. Join us for a fun day of fantastic storytelling! Love architecture, history, fantastic stories, great landscapes, fine art, folk art, or interior design? Then join Historic New England on June 6, 2026, f...

02/19/2026

Stopping Stones are micro-monuments memorializing enslaved people whose stories have often been excluded from the historical record.

This article within Historic New England magazine includes a fascinating piece by Dr. Tricia Peone, uncovering a little-...
10/27/2025

This article within Historic New England magazine includes a fascinating piece by Dr. Tricia Peone, uncovering a little-known story hidden in the Essex County Quarterly Court records — a conspiracy involving an enslaved Black man named James, who escaped from the household of Richard Dole.

The full story is linked within the article we’re sharing here. It's a powerful reminder of how much the records still have to tell us.

This February Historic New England highlights some of the Black history research it is focusing on in 2023 and the researchers who are exploring these stories.

This past weekend, we were honored to host the Slavery and Resistance Landscape Tour with Dr. Tricia Peone, Project Dire...
09/24/2025

This past weekend, we were honored to host the Slavery and Resistance Landscape Tour with Dr. Tricia Peone, Project Director for New England’s Hidden Histories at the Congregational Library & Archives in Boston.

Through her research for Historic New England’s Recovering New England Voices project, Dr. Peone uncovered powerful stories of enslaved people in the Newbury region—including the history of a failed uprising that sheds light on both the injustices and the courage of those who resisted bo***ge.

We are grateful to Dr. Peone for bringing these voices to the forefront and sharing this important history with our community.

We are looking forward to presenting this incredible program on Saturday, alongside Dr. Tricia Peone.
09/16/2025

We are looking forward to presenting this incredible program on Saturday, alongside Dr. Tricia Peone.

06/02/2025

Address

289 High Road
Newbury, MA
01951

Telephone

(978) 462-2634

Website

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