GOVERNOR JOHN LANGDON HOUSE ENTRY HALL AND STAIRS
Courtesy of Historic New England
143 Pleasant Street
Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801
Phone: 603-436-3203
http://www.historicnewengland.org/property/governor-john-langdon-house/
Portsmouth has the distinction of being New Hampshire’s oldest settlement and its only seaport. Founded as a fishing center along the shore of the Piscataqua River in 1623, the town was first named for the river, later changing its name to the more picturesque “Strawbery Banke.” In 1653 the town was incorporated and named for Portsmouth, England. With its thriving harbor, Portsmouth was an English provincial capital in colonial times and later became New Hampshire’s first state capital. An important part of the local economy has been the Naval Shipyard, which opened in 1790.
John Langdon (1741–1819) was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signer of the United States Constitution. He served in the Continental Congress, was a US senator (New Hampshire’s first) and served three terms as governor of New Hampshire. He was also a shipbuilder and a merchant.
This house was completed in 1785. President George Washington visited this house and, among Portsmouth houses, deemed it “the first.” The design is typical of late Georgian houses: a facade five bays across, a hipped roof pierced by three dormers and crowned by a balustrade. Within, the entrance hall is exceptionally large, as are the reception rooms, which are embellished with finely carved Rococo woodwork. In the garden there is a pavilion, a 150-foot-long arbor, and flower beds.
When the Governor died in 1819, the house went to his daughter, and it later had a series of owners. It was sold back to Langdon family descendants in 1877. In 1906 they hired the firm of McKim, Mead, & White to add a two-story wing, a dining room, and modern amenities. The house was transformed into a fine example of the Colonial Revival style. The last descendant to own the house was Elizabeth Langdon, who in 1947 gifted it to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (Historic New England) which preserves and displays two other historic properties in Portsmouth: Jackson House (1664) and Rundlett-May House (1807).