This house museum displays the history of an American entrepreneurial family involved in the China Trade, primarily in opium, in the mid to late 19th century.

Its interior retains many original features, including an elliptical staircase (resembling those of lighthouses) rising through three stories, leading to a cupola to view ships arriving at Boston Harbor.

[2] Interior additions (1872) include tiled fireplace surrounds in the High Victorian Gothic style.

Today it is furnished with the family's furniture, art, and American, European, and Old China Trade heirlooms.

Both were involved in sea voyages from young ages, and earned their living in the China trade.