The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) is the American organization which operates 33 house museums in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The sites, ranging from a 1650 farmhouse to architect Walter Gropius' streamlined 1937 glass house, provide an opportunity to trace the history of one of America's most distinctive regions over the past four centuries, beginning with some of the earliest colonial settlements. This book showcases the Society's houses and evokes life in New England's past. Over 225 illustrations are included, culled from SPNEA's archive of over one million photographs, but many have also been taken especially for this book. The text opens the doors to some of America's most historic and engaging buildings and broadens appreciation of the benefits of preserving the past to enrich modern life.