The museum’s collection, housed in the Freeborn Stearns house (c. 1800-1840), is located near the town center on School Street. The collection contains agricultural and industrial artifacts, works of art, maps, books, photographs, diaries, and letters dating back to the eighteenth century.

The museum’s collection began with the efforts of Mary Lee Ware (1858-1937) a seasonal resident of Rindge. Ms. Ware, around the turn of the twentieth century, took it upon herself to solicit donations of historical items from the town’s residents. The Rindge Historical Society owes a deep debt of gratitude to Mary Lee Ware’s foresight and to the generosity of the townspeople of Rindge.

Originally housed in the basement of Ingalls Memorial Library, the acquisition of the Freeborn-Stearns house from Hazel Allen, a long-time member of the Rindge Historical Society, provided increased exhibition space and a more suitable home for our expanding collection of historical artifacts, household items, war memorabilia, papers, textiles, and our many other treasured items.

Featured artifacts include the discharge papers of Eleazer Blake signed by George Washington, and the hand painted sleigh of William Dean who was mysteriously murdered in Jaffrey.