Meet Your Site Manager: Alyssa Sweet

Every historic site has a story—and so do the people who care for them. Meet Alyssa Sweet, Southern Maine Site Manager at Historic New England. She has been with the organization for two years and manages Sarah Orne Jewett House, Hamilton House, and Sayward-Wheeler House. When Alyssa isn’t managing her seasonal staff and organizing programs, she enjoys reading, quilting, and planning trips she may or may not take.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be a site manager at Historic New England.

 I’ve always enjoyed history and telling stories of the past, especially stories that are often overlooked. My family spent a lot of time at museums and historical sites when I was a kid, and I knew from a young age that I wanted to work in museums. I’ve worked at a handful of museums in New Hampshire and Southern Maine, including Old York Historical Society and the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. During COVID-19, I took a break and found a corporate job and learned that my heart really was in the museum field. I love my job and getting to tell stories of the past and helping people feel represented in history.

How do you spend your days when the sites are open—do they follow any sort of routine, or is it always changing?

When the sites are open, every day is a new adventure and it’s always changing. Which I enjoy, every day is a little different. I always start the day with checking my email and messages, answering questions that come in overnight. Then, I’m usually prepping for some sort of program that is coming up. At least of one of my sites is open Thursday through Sunday. On those days, I usually greet my guides at one of the sites. I like to be there to answer questions about the day, a group visit, a program, or any upcoming changes and catch up with them about what has been happening on sites and what’s going on with them. Interacting with my guides is probably one of my favorite parts of the job. I have such a great, passionate group of guides and I love spending time with them. I also like to switch between sites to interact with our visitors and just be an extra set of hands if needed. I enjoy hearing what our visitors share about their experiences and learning how we can improve. After lunch, I usually visit the other sites to check in with those guides. And I finish the day answering more email and prepping for whatever is happening later on in the week. Depending on the day, I could be on site to check the status of a project, meet someone from property care or collections, prepping the space for a program. There is always something new and exciting going on!

When you think about your sites, what is one favorite thing that comes to mind? 

I’m really lucky because two sites are on the water and they have beautiful, peaceful views. But my absolute favorite thing about my sites is walking into the hallway entry area of Sarah Orne Jewett House. The first thing you notice is the beautiful Arts and Crafts tulip wallpaper, which is so unique. But what I love more is the vibe you get from that hallway. It’s so welcoming and cozy in a way, sometimes I swear I can hear voices and laughter drifting from somewhere in the house. And it feels like Sarah is going to pop out of the back dining room, welcoming you to her home and inviting you to join the conversation. I recently was on leave, and when I came back into the house for the first time in months, it felt like the house was giving me a warm hug, welcoming me back. 

What are some of the best ways you’ve found to connect neighbors and community members with Historic New England’s sites?

I love inviting community members to partner with us for programs. I find that most organizations are really excited to work with us. We partner with NH Outright for our Pride Garden Party at Sarah Orne Jewett House and invite other artists and community members to help put on that event. And our concert series at Hamilton is going on its thirty-fourth year. The musicians we invite back every year say it’s one of their favorite performances of the year. I find that inviting organizations and community members to help with events is the best way for them to be involved. For these events, I find that we have participants come on site that have either already been on a tour of the site or have little interest in taking tours. And it’s a great way to have the community on site without visiting for a tour.

Are there any new tours, programs, or surprises visitors can look forward to this season?

We are partnering with Old York Historical Society to put on a tour this summer called 250 at Old York, the Road to Revolution. This two-part tour will start at Sayward-Wheeler House to learn about Jonathan Sayward and his Loyalist ties. Participants will also learn about Prince and Cato, two men Sayward enslaved, who joined the Continental Army. The tour will move over to Old York Visitor’s center for a walking tour and stop at Sayward’s gravesite in the Old Burial Ground. Guests of this special program will also visit The Best of York exhibition in the Remick Gallery, featuring artifacts belonging to Sayward and his family. We are running this tour twice this summer and hope to see you there!

Ware you reading, watching, and or listening to right now?

I just started reading the Astral Library by Kate Quinn, who is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. She was inspired by one of the rooms at Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, for her last book, The Briar Club. And this new book takes place in the Boston Public Library! And I just finished watching season four of Traitors and I’m devastated it’s over for the season. But the final season of Outlander starts soon and I’m looking forward to that.

To learn more about these and other events at Alyssa’s sites, visit HistoricNewEngland.org/Events.