The Peabody Museum.

The Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology was founded in 1866 by George Peabody of London. His total gift was $150,000, of which $60,000 were to be invested as a building fund, and the remaining $90,000 were to go towards forming a collection, and founding a professorship. Temporary quarters were secured in Boylston Hall by the trustees of the fund, and some very valuable collections were obtained either by gift or purchase. Important among these was the gift of ancient Mexican pottery from Caleb Cushing. The archaeological and ethnological collections of the late Professor Agassiz, as well as those of the Boston Society of Natural History, the Boston Athenaeum, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, were given to the Peabody Museum. A large and valuable collection has also been formed from explorations in different parts of America. The Museum is probably the most important in the country for the study of American Archaeology. The present building was begun in 1876, and completed in October 1877.