Cross a small bridge off Everett Street to reach the large stucco building that serves as the hub of the Trustees’ historical, curatorial, and institutional repositories.
The Archives & Research Center (ARC) cares for and curates Trustees’ history, providing researchers, Trustees staff, and the public access to thousands of historical documents, images, and artifacts. The property holds historically significant remains of the former Sharon Sanatorium for Pulmonary Disease, which operated from 1891 until 1949.
The ARC building’s fascinating history began in 1916, as the children’s pavilion of the Sharon Sanatorium, caring for youth afflicted with tuberculosis. The Kendall family purchased the property after the Sanatorium’s closing, and in 1956 opened the building as the Kendall Whaling Museum, which remained in operation until 2001 when its massive collection was merged with the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Today, the ARC is a fire-retardant, climate-controlled structure, ideal for conservation and curatorial storage. Researchers are encouraged to visit the ARC for queries into the Trustees’ sizeable, and growing, repository.
Researchers are encouraged to review online property collection finding aids before scheduling an appointment. Anyone can fill out our online request form to submit a query, set up a research appointment, or ask other collections-related questions.
For more information about the Trustees’ wide variety of collections, including those open to the public at our historic houses, estates, and museums, visit our Collections page.
Note: the ARC property itself is not open for public visitation, and has no walking trails; the public may, however, make an appointment to perform specific research about a collection.
By appointment only. Anyone can fill out our online request form to submit a query, set up a research appointment, or ask other collections-related questions.
Please call 781.784.8200 or email ARC@TheTrustees.org to arrange your visit.
Please contact the ARC via email at ARC@TheTrustees.org to set up a research appointment. Upon confirmation, directions will be shared.
As reminder, all visitors must make an appointment before coming here.
Accessibility
The ARC property itself is not open for public visitation, and has no walking trails. The public may, however, make an appointment to perform specific research about a collection. Please email ARC@TheTrustees.org regarding your query.
The ARC building’s fascinating history began in 1916, as the children’s pavilion of the Sharon Sanatorium, caring for youth afflicted with tuberculosis. The Kendall family purchased the property after the Sanatorium’s closing, and in 1956 opened the building as the Kendall Whaling Museum, which remained in operation until 2001 when its massive collection was merged with the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
