New Hampshire's Historic Sites
New Hampshire's historic sites offer a rich tapestry of cultural, political, and naval history, reflecting the state's diverse heritage. Notable locations include the Albacore submarine in Portsmouth, which signifies advancements in naval architecture, and the Franklin Pierce Homestead, the childhood home of the 14th U.S. president. The Canterbury Shaker Village stands out as a well-preserved example of a 19th-century communal society, showcasing the Shaker ethos of functional beauty in its architecture. Literary history is celebrated at the Frost Homestead, where renowned poet Robert Frost lived, and at the Cummings House, linked to the innovative poet E. E. Cummings.
Additional historical landmarks include the Mount Washington Hotel, a site of the pivotal Bretton Woods Conference, and the Langdon Mansion, associated with significant political figures of the Revolutionary era. Military history resonates at the Sullivan House, linked to General John Sullivan, a key figure in the American Revolution. Each site offers visitors insight into New Hampshire's role in shaping both state and national narratives, making it a compelling destination for those interested in American history and culture.
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New Hampshire's Historic Sites
Albacore
Location: Portsmouth Maritime Museum, Portsmouth, Rockingham County
Relevant issues: Naval history
Statement of significance:Albacore (1953), an experimental, diesel-electric submarine represents a revolution in naval architecture. Designed to be a true submarine, in which surface characteristics are subordinated to underwater performance, it was much quieter, faster, and more maneuverable than any earlier submarine. Through a series of tests of various configurations it provided the model for all future U.S. Navy and most foreign submarines.
Bartlett House
Location: Kingston, Rockingham County
Relevant issues: Colonial America, political history
Statement of significance: From 1774 until his death, this was the home of Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795), physician, Revolutionary patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence and constitution for New Hampshire. Bartlett also served as chief justice and governor of the state.
Canterbury Shaker Village
Location: Canterbury, Merrimack County
Relevant issues: Religion
Statement of significance: Designed, built, and inhabited by Shakers for two hundred years, Canterbury Shaker Village is considered among the most intact and authentic of the surviving Shaker villages—the largest, most successful, and best known of America’s nineteenth century communal utopian societies. The stark harmony of the well-ordered, practical structures of this village illustrates well the Shaker principle of simple beauty through function.
Chase Birthplace and Boyhood Home
Location: Cornish Flat, Sullivan County
Relevant issues: Political history
Statement of significance: From 1808 to 1816, this was the childhood home of Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873), who served Ohio in the U.S. Senate (1849-1855, 1861) and as governor (1855-1859) and the nation as secretary of the Treasury (1861-1864) and chief justice (1864-1873). In the latter capacity, he presided over the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
Cummings House
Location: Silver Lake, Carroll County
Relevant issues: Literary history
Statement of significance: This white clapboard farmhouse is associated with one of the most innovative poets of the twentieth century, E. E. Cummings (1894-1962). From 1923 until his death, “Joy Farm,” set in an unspoiled rolling, wooded countryside, was the summer home of Edward Estlin Cummings.
Frost Homestead
Location: Derry, Rockingham County
Relevant issues: Literary history
Statement of significance: From 1900 to 1909, this thirteen-acre farm was the home of Robert Frost (1874-1963), one of the few twentieth century poets to command both critical respect and wide readership. Frost authored eleven volumes of poetry and on four occasions won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry (1924, 1931, 1937, and 1943).
Harrisville Historic District
Location: Harrisville and vicinity, Cheshire County
Relevant issues: Cultural history
Statement of significance: Harrisville is an exceptionally well-preserved industrial community of the early nineteenth century. Its complex of mills, stores, boardinghouses, dwellings, churches, and other buildings is virtually intact.
Jones House
Location: Portsmouth, Rockingham County
Relevant issues: Naval history, Revolutionary War
Statement of significance: For two years (1781-1782), this large rectangular two-and-a-half-story wood boardinghouse was the residence of John Paul Jones (1747-1792), Scottish-born American naval officer and hero. While here, Jones supervised the construction of America, a ship of the line for the Continental Navy.
Langdon Mansion
Location: Portsmouth, Rockingham County
Relevant issues: Political history, Revolutionary War
Statement of significance: Erected in 1784, this home, one of the great Georgian houses of America, was the residence of Governor John Langdon (1741-1819), a leading figure in New Hampshire mercantile, military, and political affairs for more than forty years. Langdon served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and as the first president pro tempore of the United States Senate. His house was built by local craftsmen who derived details from architectural guidebooks by British author Abraham Stone.
MacDowell Colony
Location: Peterborough, Hillsborough County
Relevant issues: Cultural history
Statement of significance: Established in 1908 as a living memorial to Edward MacDowell (1861-1908), one of the first Americans to be recognized as a composer of serious music, the colony—forty-two buildings on four hundred acres of forest and meadow land—has since become known internationally as a retreat where men and women gifted in the arts enjoy ideal conditions for creative work.
Mount Washington Hotel
Location: Bretton Woods, Coos County
Relevant issues: Business and industry, political history
Statement of significance: This was the largest spa (352 rooms) in the White Mountains when it opened in 1902. Built in Spanish-Renaissance style, it is a large wooden frame, Y-shaped structure with two five-story octagonal towers. Its isolation and scale made it the choice location of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, an international gathering of economists, lawyers, and politicians to chart a blueprint for the world’s monetary system. The World Bank was established at this conference.
Pierce Homestead
Location: Hillsborough, Hillsborough County
Relevant issues: Political history
Statement of significance: From infancy until his marriage in 1834, this two-story frame and clapboard house was the home of Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), fourteenth president of the United States. Pierce held office during one of the most critical periods (1853-1857) of the antebellum generation; during his tenure, the apparent calm of the Missouri Compromise of 1850 gave way to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, “Bleeding Kansas,” and the renewed sectional storms which resulted in the Civil War.
Sullivan House
Location: Durham, Strafford County
Relevant issues: Military history, Revolutionary War
Statement of significance: From 1764 until his death, this two-story, L-shaped wood structure was the home of John Sullivan (1740-1795), a major general during the War for Independence and one of George Washington’s ablest officers. In December, 1774, leading four hundred Portsmouth Sons of Liberty, Sullivan captured Fort William and Mary at the entrance of Portsmouth Harbor, appropriating its weapons and stores for the patriotic cause.
Webster Family Home
Location: West Franklin, Merrimack County
Relevant issues: Political history
Statement of significance: From 1800 until the end of his days, The Elms served Daniel Webster (1782-1852) as a home, vacation retreat, and experimental farm. The gravesites of his parents and four brothers and sisters are located here.