At Dartmouth’s historic Akin House, they’re celebrating like it’s 1762.

The 260-year-old home located at 763 Dartmouth St. was open to the public Sunday for tours and an outdoor gathering featuring 18th century artisans and re-enactors — the first time the property has hosted such an event since 2019.

“A lot has changed here since then,” said Dartmouth Heritage Preservation Trust, Inc. President Diane Gilbert.

Since the last outdoor gathering, much of the lot has been developed to accommodate more patrons and re-enactors.

“Now we can take advantage of all this space,” Gilbert said.

The biggest change has been to the Akin house itself.

For years, volunteers have worked to preserve the home after it was abandoned by the Akin family in the 1980s. 

“When people first entered the house, they found a shag rug, a ceiling coming down, and a lot of water damage,” Gilbert said. 

It was initially a project of the Waterfront Historic Area League, Inc., but the Trust took over preservation efforts in 2007.

Much of the work, which was done in three phases, involved getting the building to look like it would have back when it was built in 1762, albeit with some modern amenities such as a lift for disabled patrons and an HVAC system.

Now the home is in maintenance mode, with volunteers recently making some updates to the building’s trim — things that need to be addressed at any old building, Gilbert said.

While there’s less cosmetic work needed, volunteers are still searching the property for any artifacts that have been buried. Already, crews have discovered some of the original nails and remnants of dishes dating back to the 1790s.

“This has survived the Revolution and every other war you can imagine — [it’s] still here,” Gilbert said.

There are also plans for other events at the historical house during the summer in the hopes of creating further interest in this link to Dartmouth’s colonial-era past.

“This is our baby,” Gilbert said.