Our summer 2024 walking tours have concluded, but sign up for our newsletter to be notified when the 2025 walking tours are announced and tickets go on sale. Or gather a group of friends and book a private walking tour! Email education@historicnewton.org to find out more.

Historic Newton’s walking tours are sponsored by Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Past Walking Tours 

Literary Newton: A Newtonville Walking Tour 

Join two published local authors for a tour that takes you to places where writers including Robert Frost and Harriet Beecher Stowe visited Newton. Learn more about authors who studied literature at Newton’s high schools and see the work of contemporary poets stamped into the sidewalk through the city’s Make Poetry Concrete program. You’ll hear a few poems read aloud, too, including some by Pulitzer Prize-winning Newtonians. Led by Clara Silverstein and Grey Held.

Who Inspired Our School Names? A Newton Cemetery Tour

Stroll through the Newton Cemetery to learn more about the namesakes of many of our city’s elementary and middle schools. Learn about their lives and see the final resting places of Dr. Henry Bigelow, A. B. Underwood, and others whose legacy continues in our public schools. With the upcoming renovations, remodeling, and construction of many of Newton’s Public Schools, now is the perfect time to reminisce about their founding and look forward to the future.  

Life at the Lake: A Crystal Lake Walking Tour

Ever wondered about the evolution of Crystal Lake? This Newton landmark has been a spot for ice harvesting, recreational activities, famous neighbors, preservation efforts, and more. During this early morning walking tour we'll share stories, photos, and seasonal memories as we walk all the way around the pond.

The Tree Nursery on Nonantum Hill: A Durant-Kenrick Walking Tour

Did you know Newton Corner was the site of one of New England’s first commercial nurseries? Put yourself back in time to when the Kenrick family cultivated fruit trees, ornamental trees, and shrubberies. Travel the original acreage of the nursery, see an 1882 Kenrick house, visit the Durant-Kenrick House and Grounds. As nature allows, taste fruit from Durant-Kenrick’s own historic gardens

Walking Tour: 100+ Years Ago in Auburndale

Did you know that Auburndale was almost called Pigeonville? This tour takes you past sites of importance from the 18th through the early 20th century, telling you colorful stories about the people and institutions that shaped the village we know today. You’ll see one of Newton’s oldest homes, hear about student life at Lasell Female Seminary, and see where the families of missionaries once lived in between assignments abroad. Led by Clara Silverstein.

Walking Tour: Early Newtonians in East Parish Burying Ground

How does a burying ground tell our local story? Ramble through East Parish Burying Ground as we visit the grave sites of some of Newton’s early English settlers and the location of the 17th century meetinghouse. We’ll also reveal the hidden stories of the Indigenous Massachusett people and enslaved and free Black Newtonians who were not buried there, but whose experience is equally as important in understanding our city’s history.