Richard Jackson House - Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 43° 04.849 W 070° 46.034
19T E 356143 N 4771305
The Richard Jackson house is the oldest surviving frame house in New Hampshire.
Waymark Code: WMEM1P
Location: New Hampshire, United States
Date Posted: 06/11/2012
Views: 2
Right on this avenue is the Richard Jackson House. A two-story frame house, it has two wings and a lean-to at the rear, all later additions to the central part, which was built in 1664. Small leaded casements, not original, are the only architectural embellishments to the unpainted and weather-stained house. The oldest house in Portsmouth, and for many years in a grave state of disrepair, it was recently purchased by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and carefully restored. The interior is devoid of all refined ornament. The ceilings have exposed beams, some of which are beaded; walls are either sheathed or roughly plastered; and the floors have old wide boards. In both wings are corner fireplaces. The right wing is some what older than the left, and there is a corresponding difference in the trim and character of the rooms. The interior of the rear lean-to is unfinished. - New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State, Tour 2, pg. 269
The Richard Jackson house was constructed circa 1664 by Richard Jackson, a woodworker, farmer and mariner. The wood frame house had additions over the years including the addition of the lean-to portion which was added prior to 1715. The house had other additions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the house accommodated multiple family groups from the Jackson family.
The house was acquired by William Sumner Appleton, the founder of Historic New England, in 1924 from a member of the seventh generation of Jacksons to live in the house. Appleton limited the restoration to removal only the twentieth century alterations.
The house is now operated as a house museum by Historic New England and was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
It is open for tours on following schedule:
First and third Saturdays, June 1 – October 15
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission:
$6 adults
$5 senior
$3 students
Free for Historic New England members and Portsmouth residents.