Jeremiah Lee Mansion, Marblehead

THe Jeremiah Lee Mansion is beautifully maintained, inside and out. There were quite a few original pieces of furniture throughout, and even the walls sported the original wall paper that Jeremiah and his wife once enjoyed. A tour is given during the summer months, but we were there in May. The gracious hostess allowed my husband and I to take an off-season sneak-peak of the Museum, since and I had come all the way from Hawaii to see it. There are four levels to the Jeremiah's home. I personally got a creepy feeling when I entered a room that was apparently had once been a nursery. There were portraits of little children with big innocent eyes and dressed in formal clothing, a baby cradle, old toys and dolls, etc. It sent chills down my spine. I was told later by Judy, the curator, that the portraits are those of children of families that resided in Marblehead in the 1700's. It seems that these children had died in infancy or early childhood, and the portraits served as a sort of "photo" of the children, so that the family can remember their little boy or girl(cameras had not been invented till the 19th century). I've never believed in ghosts, but this incident has changed that! It was pretty exciting, and I would like the chance to go back there again, just to see if the feeling I had was real..... We got the shortened version of the actual tour since it was off-season and the curator was very busy. However, she was very informative and gracious. It is easy for us to imagine that the complete tour would be so worth the visit!