The Captain Elias Davis House (1804) will be decorated for the holiday season and open for self-guided tours from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tours are free for members or with Museum admission. A special family-friendly tour will be offered during the Middle Street walk at 10:30 a.m. 

The Davis House, which was built between 1799 and 1804 for Lucy Haskell Davis and her husband Elias Davis, Sr., is a noteworthy example of early Federal architecture on Cape Ann and is furnished with many of the Cape Ann Museum’s finest examples of early American furniture and decorative arts. The property was originally acquired by the Cape Ann Scientific and Literary Association in the 1920s and served as the first permanent headquarters of what was to become the present day Cape Ann Museum. The House has four furnished rooms open to the public on the ground floor, with the upstairs area serving as administrative and office space. During the Museum’s recent renovation, the Davis House underwent a number of important upgrades, including a major overhaul of its heating system, installation of fire detection and suppression systems, and the addition of a newly designed glazed entrance connecting to the reception area. Upon completion of the work, rooms on the first floor of the structure were repainted and exhibitions re-installed, incorporating many objects that had not previously been on display in that setting.