THE FISHER-RICHARDSON HOUSE
IS CLOSED UNTIL JUNE 2024
The Fisher-Richardson House is owned by the Town of Mansfield with tours conducted by the Mansfield Historical Society during the summer months.
The Fisher-Richardson House takes its name from the family of Mary Fisher the daughter of Mansfield's first minister. Mary inherited the house in 1763 following the deaths of her father the Reverend Ebenezer White and her brother Benjamin. This was the home of her children and grandchildren including her granddaughter Evelina Fisher who married Ira Richardson. Evelina and Ira's daughter Martha was the last person to live in the Fisher-Richardson House.
In February 1930 the Town of Mansfield acquired the house as a gift from Martha Richardson's heir, Emma Frost. Town meeting voted to restore the building to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth.
In September 1930, the house opened to the public as a museum with a historical pageant that included Fisher and Richardson descendants and the town's historian, Jennie F. Copeland.
The house stands as a rare example of a modestly sized rural home of the mid-18th century. The east end of the house, approximately 600 square feet was built first. In about 1800, the west end was added, and the arrangement of the east rooms was changed. A restoration attempted to return the east rooms to their original appearance.
Visitors to the house can view early gun-stock posts, feather-edged paneling and decorated ceilings, among other architectural details and well as artifacts owned by the Mansfield Historical Society.
Mansfield Historical Society
dba Mansfield History Center
53 Rumford Avenues
Mansfield, Massachusetts 02048
mansfieldhs1775@gmail.com
© 2023 Mansfield Historical Society