Governor John Langdon House, 1784
A National Historic Landmark
143 Pleasant Street
Portsmouth, N.H. 03801
(603) 436-3205

Directions

Open: June 1 through October 15
Friday through Sunday
Tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Admission: $6, Historic New England members and Portsmouth residents free

The grounds may be rented for weddings and other occasions.

John Langdon rose from modest origins to become a merchant, shipbuilder, Revolutionary leader, signer of the United States Constitution, and three-term governor of New Hampshire.

The house he built for his family expresses his status as Portsmouth's leading citizen and was praised by George Washington, who visited there in 1789. Its reception rooms -- of a grand scale suited to ceremonial occasions -- are ornamented by elaborate wood carving in the rococo style.

After Langdon's death in 1819, the house was occupied by other leading families. At the end of the 19th century, Langdon descendants purchased the house and restored it to its 18th-century glory, adding on a substantial wing designed by McKim, Mead, and White to house modern conveniences.

The handsome garden, dating from the same era, features restored perennial beds, a rose and grape arbor, and a pavilion.

There are two other Historic New England house museums in Portsmouth: the Rundlet-May House and the Jackson House, New Hampshire's oldest house. Also nearby in the Piscataqua region are Hamilton House, Sarah Orne Jewett House, Gilman Garrison House, and Sayward-Wheeler House.

Directions: Take I-95 to Exit 7 (Market Street). Bear right after the railroad tracks. Turn right onto Deer Street. Turn left onto Maplewood Avenue. Turn left onto State Street. Turn right onto Pleasant Street. Langdon House is one block down on the left.