Established by Clara Endicott Sears in 1914, the Fruitlands Museum is inspired by an experimental utopian community under the leadership of Charles Lane and Bronson Alcott; the community existed on the site in 1843. Today the Fruitlands Museum consists of a sprawling campus with several structures including:
  • The Fruitlands Farmhouse, the original site of the experimental community established in 1843
  • The Shaker Museum, the historic museum because it is the first of its kind in the United States as well as the site for the world’s largest archive of Harvard Shaker papers
  • The Native American Museum, the repository of historical artifacts honoring the cultural history and spiritual presence of the first Americans with emphasis on the New England native culture
  • The Art Museum, the second-largest collection of 19th century vernacular portraits and Hudson River School landscape paintings aside from the rotating exhibits throughout the year
  • The Wayside Visitor Center, the venue for exhibitions about the Fruitlands’ environment and landscape as well as education programs
Visit the Fruitlands Museum and see its attractions.