Truly remarkable wealth. It is hard to handle knowing where it came from, but the museum doesn’t hide this reality. Instead, they partner with Courageous Conversations to be a living reminder of the Opium Trade and the Slave Trade and how it profited merchants in the US.

I do hope that, just as those who fed opioid addiction in the US are meeting Justice, that Justice continues to come to those who got filthy rich off of a filthy business.

Still, there’s a lot more here than just that sad reality (and it is a reality I’m glad this museum ensures we do not forget). There is manuscript-gifted poetry and long-since banned Ivory, and wooden tables carved to assemble without nails!

The luxury and history here is remarkable AND almost entirely accessible (Elevator out front).

The Peabody Essex Museum has more on the opium and “China Trade” in general, so this is more focused on the family.

I love that one descendant was obsessed with Abraham Lincoln and built a replica of Lincoln’s Kentucky cabin in the back yard a hundred years ago. You can see it to this day. Maybe Lincoln’s work toward freedom meant something, coming from a family whose wealth was, through the uncle, in part through the slave trade.

Only open three days a week for a few hours so be sure to check and buy tickets in advance!!!

You can also see the last Governor of Mass Bay’s abandoned field across the street, or the marker to where George HW Bush was born next to that.