MARBLEHEAD — Janet Lund lives in a home built by a ship carpenter in 1760.
A plaque on her door marks that the house was built for Captain John Bartoll, a joiner. Lund said the home is the epitome of what she and her husband had hoped to find when moving to Marblehead — it’s historical but has been significantly updated over the years. A prior owner wrote down some of the house’s story, but that’s where her knowledge about it ends.
“The house has withstood almost 260 years,” said Lund. “We suspect it might have been one room at that time — something just to keep the rain off, where they may have slept and cooked and survived. We don’t know how the house has evolved and that’s something we would really like to know.”
Lund and other residents will research the history behind their centuries-old homes at the Marblehead Museum Wednesday at noon. Director Lauren McCormack will teach a workshop, using resources available at the museum and online to help homeowners learn about their properties.
Marblehead is home to the Robert Hooper Mansion, General John Glover House, and a number of privately owned historic houses, she said.
“Marblehead has a very high concentration of original, historic homes,” said McCormack. “It was actually quite a poor town for a while in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, so people couldn’t afford to renovate their homes. I think this workshop will apply to a lot of people because almost everybody lives in a house of some age.”
She will teach residents to use the registry of historic places and other resources to learn about their own homes. The event is the second part of a three-part workshop series the museum is holding. The first was focused on genealogy research, and on March 28 at noon, a lecture will be given on caring for family papers and photographs. Attendees will learn how to protect their documents from moisture using acid free materials.
