Gore Place

We have booked a private tour of the Gore Estate mansion in Waltham at 11 am on January 29.  Our tour of the 1806 home of Christopher and Rebecca Gore, includes private rooms, public spaces and the stories of people who lived and worked at one of the grandest estates in early America.

 The cost of this tour is $16 per person, paid in advance.  The group will have lunch together at John Brewer's Tavern, directly across the street from the Gore estate.  Please get in touch with Judy judylbernstein@gmail.com to schedule and make payment. Plenty of parking is available on site. 

Read below to learn more about Gore Place and its history.

Gore Place’s History

Located just nine miles west of Boston and less than half a mile from the Charles River, Gore Place has a long and fascinating history that spans centuries. Founded in 1935 to preserve and promote the historic country estate of Christopher and Rebecca Gore, Gore Place is a museum, working farm, and community resource that tells the story of early nineteenth-century American life. Explore this page to learn more about our unique history!

Who Lived Here?

Gore Place has been inhabited for at least four centuries. The Nonantum and Pequossette tribes fished, hunted, and raised crops in this area, and when they ceded this land to English colonists in 1630, the Reverend George Phillips—one of the founders of Watertown—chose this parcel to build his home. Since then the property has had a number of owners, most notably Christopher and Rebecca Gore, and author and abolitionist, Robert Roberts.

After Rebecca died in 1834 the house was sold to Boston Mayor Theodore Lyman, Jr., who added a floral garden and farmhouse to the property. Over the next century, the estate passed through a number of owners, including Nathaniel Singleton Copley Greene—grandson of John Singleton Copley, the famous painter—before it faced demolition in 1935. Gore Place Society was founded in May of 1935 to save the historic estate, and it continues to preserve the property today as a museum, working farm, and community resource.O WERE THE GORES?            WHO WAS ROBERT ROBERTS?           TIMELINE OF GORE PLACE

The 1806 Mansion and 1793 Carriage House

The Gores first purchased this land in 1786. The property included a house and a carriage house, and while the former burned to the ground a decade later, the Carriage House is still standing today just beside its original location.

The famous brick house, now referred to as the "mansion," was completed in 1806. The Gores turned the property into one of the most beautiful and well-known estates in New England, which was visited by notable guests such as James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster while Christopher served as Governor of Massachusetts and later as a U.S. Senator.

The Gores’ Carriage House was built in 1793. The building was an important part of the estate, as it housed carriages, horses, and stored a range of equipment including harnesses, saddles, bridles, and other tack. Hay and grain were also stored in the Carriage House, and the cellar was utilized to make compost for fertilizing fields.