Just over the line into Newbury — but a five-minute drive from downtown Newburyport — the Coffin House is one of the oldest standing wood-frame houses in New England, with the original part built around 1678. Eight generations of Coffins lived in it until 1929, each adding to it; the result is a single structure showing First-Period, Georgian, and Federal interiors side by side, with two separate kitchens (his and hers, after a 1785 family split).
Owned by Historic New England and open weekend afternoons June through October. Allow an hour for the guided tour, which is the only way in.