Cogswell's Grant

Category:

Open: June 1 through October 15
Wednesday through Sunday
Tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

In 1937, the Littles purchased this 18th-century farmhouse overlooking the Essex River as a family retreat and place to entertain. They restored it carefully, trying to preserve original 18th-century finishes and carefully documenting their work. In more than 50 years of collecting, they sought works of strong, even quirky character, and in particular favored objects with their original finishes and New England histories.

They decorated the house for visual delight rather than historic accuracy. The result is rich in atmosphere and crowded with collections of things -- primitive paintings, redware, painted furniture, stacked Shaker boxes, weather vanes and decoys -- that have since come to define the country look.