Collections

The museum collections at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site are the foundation of our understanding of the people who have lived and worked in this place for over 10,000 years and the technologies they used to exploit the resources around the Saugus River. The collections fall into three main categories: Archeology, History and Archival.

Archeology collections consist of approximately 41,000 objects found through archeological digs at the site of the iron making plant that operated here from 1646 to about 1670. These materials, along with their associated documentation, provide a record of early iron-making processes and products as well as a portrait of early settlement life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Eighteenth through twentieth century objects were also found, reflecting the later history of the site, especially the residents of the Iron Works House. There are also a substantial number of Native American objects that date to as early as 8,000 BP that provide insight into the tools, technologies, and lives of the Native peoples who lived in the area.

History collections at Saugus Iron Works consist of decorative arts objects. They primarily serve to interpret the 1680’s Iron Works House and include period and reproduction furnishings and household objects. Other decorative arts include items associated with noted antiquarian Wallace Nutting (1862-1941) and materials related to the site’s founding organization, the First Iron Works Association (1943-1978). Architectural materials removed from the Iron Works House during maintenance projects are sampled and retained in collections.

Archival collections provide invaluable information on the site’s excavation, reconstruction, and development as an outdoor living history museum. Resource management records generated under the National Park Service administration of the site are also held in the park’s archive.

 
A pile of different size, shape, and color chips of stone with five projectile points on top.
Native American Collections

These archeological collections at the Iron Works can help us understand how the site was used through time by Indigenous peoples.

Different sized boxes and tubes on shelves filled with artifacts.
Collection Spotlight

Explore objects from our museum collection!

 

Last updated: February 16, 2022

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

244 Central St
Saugus, MA 01906

Phone:

781-233-0050

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