In addition to serving as the seat of Marblehead's town government, Abbot Hall has holdings as a museum.

It contains the original The Spirit of '76 by Archibald MacNeal Willard, which was widely reproduced,[2] the 1684 deed to Marblehead signed by descendants of Wenepoykin, youngest son of Nanepashemet, chief or sachem of the regional Pawtucket confederation of Abenaki peoples prior to Pilgrim settlement, a bust of native son and U.S. vice president Elbridge Gerry, a painting of Marbleheaders rowing George Washington across the Delaware River during the American Revolutionary War, a painting by primitivist J.O.J.

"[4] The clock in the tower of Abbot Hall is a Howard #2S installed in 1877; it is governed by a 10 ft (3.0 m) pendulum escapement, driven by an 86 lb (39 kg) weight.

[2] The clangor escapement is governed by a flutter vane assembly and is powered by a 292 lb (132 kg) weight.

[2] The Bell was cast by Meneely & Kimberly in Troy, New York and donated by James J. H. Gregory[5][6] Every week the maintenance workers ascend the tower to wind the movements.