Historic New England is offering guided tours of Barrett House, 79 Main St. in New Ipswich, hourly from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 22, Aug. 12 and 26, Sept. 9 and 23 and Oct. 14.
Barrett House, also known as Forest Hall, was built c. 1800 by Charles Barrett for his son Charles Jr. and daughter-in-law Martha Minot on the occasion of their marriage. Its scale was encouraged by Martha’s father, who promised to furnish the house in as lavish a manner as Barrett could build it.
The house features family furnishings, French scenic wallpaper and a third-floor ballroom with period musical instruments. The mansion sits on more than 70 acres that include perennial and annual gardens and a Gothic Revival summer house that crowns the hillside overlooking the grounds.
Visitors can learn about the multiple generations that resided at Barrett House, their lifestyles and the country estate that represents a vanished way of life from a time when New Ipswich was an active mill town.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $5 for ages 6 to 18 and free for children 5 and under. Visit historicnewengland.org for information or to purchase tickets.