John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites
John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites is a National Historic Landmark consisting of two properties in Duxbury, Massachusetts, United States.[3]
John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites | |
 John Alden House, 2009 | |
   | |
| Location | 105 Alden St., Duxbury, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°2′42″N 70°41′9″W / 42.04500°N 70.68583°W |
| Area | 2.4 acres (0.97 ha) |
| Built | c. 1630 |
| NRHP reference No. | 78000476[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 14, 1978 |
| Designated NHL | October 6, 2008[2] |
According to the Department of the Interior's press release:
The John and Priscilla Alden Sites property consists of the c. 1700 Alden house and the c. 1632 original Alden Homestead site. The property owes it significance to the cultural impact of The Courtship of Miles Standish, a poem about the courtship of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, written by Alden descendant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and published in 1858. The public embraced the poem. It became one of the most popular national origin stories in American folklore. The property also is the location of important archeological fieldwork and analysis by Roland Wells Robbins (1908-1987), a pioneer in the field of historical archeology, making the site of national significance in the development in this field. Robbins located and excavated a foundation of the original Alden home in 1960, which yielded nationally significant data that shed light on the lifeways of the first English settlers in North America.[4]
Alden Homestead site
changeThis property is the site of John Alden's original home. It was built about 1632. John and Priscilla Alden first lived in this house. Traditional accounts say the house was abandoned around 1653. The building has not survived. The property is now an important archeological site. It is owned by the Town of Duxbury.
John Alden House
changeThe John Alden House is a historic house museum that was supposed to be the home of John and Priscilla Alden. It is located at 105 Alden Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Family tradition says it was built in 1653. Scientific testing of the beams says the house was built about 1700.[5]
Recognition
changeJohn and Priscilla Alden Family Sites was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] The sites were declared a National Historic Landmark on October 7, 2008. The Alden Kindred of America, Inc. is a non-profit organization that owns and takes care of the John Alden House.
Notes
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13.
- ↑ "NHL summary description of John and Priscilla Alden Family Sites". National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
- ↑ "Alden House Historic Site - 105 Alden Street, Duxbury, MA 02332". See Plymouth Massachusetts. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ↑ "Interior Designates 16 New National Historic Landmarks". D.O.I. News Release. U.S. Department of the Interior. 2008-10-14. Archived from the original on 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ↑ "NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
References
changeMore reading
change- Levine, Sassaman, and Nassaney, eds. The Archaeological Northeast (Chapter: "An Interdisciplinary Study of the John Alden Houses, 1627 and 1653, Duxbury, Massachusetts: Archaeology and Architecture" by Mitchell T. Mulholland). Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (1999).