Historical Walking Tours
An easy and enjoyable way to add to your store of local history knowledge is to join us for one of our local walking tours, focusing on several historic areas of interest.
Regularly Scheduled Tours:
Join our knowledgable guides for regularly scheduled one hour walks from Spring through Fall.
West Avenue and Prospect Street in Essex Village
This stroll explores the history behind the structures of “Pound Hill” including several 19th Century churches, Hills Academy, the Old Firehouse and more.
Riverview Cemetery in Essex Village
Guides will regale you with stories of some of the cemetery’s most colorful “residents” while also explaining the cryptic meaning behind beautiful gravestone art, and will discuss how the growth of the cemetery reflects local and national history over three hundred years.
Centerbrook
The oldest of Essex’s three villages, this tour traces Centerbrook’s dynamic roots from early farming history through later manufacturing development, powered by the Falls River.
Main Street in Essex Village
This tour captures the rich 18th and 19th Century maritime history of “Potapaug,” with special focus on the town’s working waterfront.
EHS Director Melissa Josefiak leading a special Halloween
tour of Riverview Cemetery.
Tours typically cover less than a mile over fairly level terrain.
Tours are free to Members
Suggested Non-Member Donation: $5
Private Group Tours
We are happy to work with students, scouts, private groups and organizations to share stories of the rich history of Essex’s three villages. In addition to the tours listed above, illustrated presentations are available on select local history topics. Talks can be modified to suit your group’s interests.
Please contact us at least three weeks in advance for more information and to arrange details.
A small fee and group size minimums may
apply for private groups.
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history”