The Benjamin Holmes Jr. House at 395 Pleasant Street in Portsmouth, is a two-story, five-bay, residence with symmetrical facade with a central pedimented entry. In 1795, Benjamin Holmes (1768-1837) married Esther Lewis, and the couple moved into this residence. The late-Georgian house follows the typical form and finishes of many other coastal New England residences of the late 18th century and is in a great state of preservation.
Master mariner Charles E. Blunt Sr. (1768-1823) built this large Federal period home on Pleasant Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire near the turn of the 19th century for his bride, Abigail Laighton, and their new family. Charles Blunt was a wealthy sea captain who would be out at sea for months at a time, trading in the west indies. On a voyage near Havana Cuba in March, 1823, his vessel was boarded in the night by two piratical boats, with six men each, and Captain Charles Blunt was brutally murdered and thrown overboard. The ship’s cook was stabbed, and fed to the hogs on the brig, with the remainder of the crew maltreated and the goods plundered. The Captain Blunt House follows a symmetrical, five-bay, center entrance form, with cedar shake shingles, three pedimented dormers and large portico over the door.
The Joshua Wentworth House at 27 Hancock Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is a high-style Georgian residence built before the American Revolution, and was almost demolished in the name of “urban renewal.” The house has a side-gable roof with three broken-pediment dormers and a wood paneled door with segmental entablature, pilasters, and a five-light transom. Joshua Wentworth (1742–1809) the namesake of the house, was a grandson of John Wentworth (1671–1730), who had served as an early Lieutenant Governor for the Province of New Hampshire, and was himself, a merchant and State legislator. The house was originally located in the North End of Portsmouth, but in the 1970s, urban renewal and local politicians sought to raze portions of the town to “revitalize” the port town. If only they knew that Portsmouth would be the largest tourist draw in the state just for people to see historic, walkable neighborhoods! Businessman Harry Winebaum acquired the house and sought to preserve it. The solution: move the house by barge to the south side of town near Strawberry Banke. Luckily for us, the house was moved in 1973 and was restored. It is a private residence.
The South Meeting House was built in Portsmouth in 1866 and it is significant as a high-style Italianate building in the coastal town, and as the meeting place for the first African American church congregation in New Hampshire. The present building is the second building on this site. The initial structure was the Old South Meeting House, which was built for the South Church in 1731. The City demolished it in 1863 for the construction of the present building in 1866 as a Ward Hall for the Southern area of the community. The building’s upper level serves as a large public meeting space, and has seen use for political meetings, ward elections, and religious services The structure was the home of the People’s Baptist Church, the first African American church in New Hampshire, which organized in 1873, when the Freewill Baptists congregated on the second floor of this building. The church relocated in 1915 to 45 Pearl Street when the congregation raised money and bought their own building. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the building continued to serve as a church, school, and community center until at least 1915. After World War II, it was boarded up due to economic circumstances and endured a period of neglect. In 1966, Strawbery Banke leased the building from the city for about fifteen years, during which it returned as a community resource and was renamed the South Meeting House. The city invested around $67,000 for repair work that also exposed further damage issues. In 1982, the city approved a proposal for the building to become a Children’s Museum. The community contributed to the required materials and labor that allowed the Museum to welcome the public from 1983-2008. Today, the city is still permitting restoration projects to preserve the historic building.
The Tredick House is located at 187 Marcy Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and was built in 1802 for Captain Jonathan Martin Tredick (1777-1803) and his new wife, Martha Marshall on land gifted to them by Jonathan’s father, William Tredick. In a tragic shift of fortune, Captain Jonathan Tredick never got to live in his new house as he died at sea, with accounts differing, either from fever or being swept overboard. At the time, Jonathan and Martha had two children, 2 year-old Catherine Marshall Tredick (1801-1822) and newborn Jonathan Marshall Tredick (1802-1875). Martha, a sudden widow at the age of 26 with two children, was aided by her family and that of her late husband, and operated a store nearby to supplement her income until her death at home in 1872, she was 96 and never remarried. The late Georgian style house features a hipped roof with central chimney, pedimented dormers and a pedimented entry and 9-over-six sash windows on the house.
The people and buildings of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, have always been closely tied to the sea. Many old houses and commercial buildings here were built for merchants, ship builders, sea captains, and fishermen, who made their living from the charming port town. This historic house at 333 Marcy Street in the Downtown area of Portsmouth, was built around 1812 for Benjamin Damrell (1781-1821) a sea captain, privateer during the War of 1812, and member of the Portsmouth Marine Society and Alert Fire Society of Portsmouth, a volunteer fire fighting group. Captain Damrell died in 1821 while at sea and his property was inherited by his widow, Lucy, who appears to have remained here for some time, raising their daughter.
The Captain Drisco House on Meetinghouse Hill Road is a recently restored example of the vernacular Federal period architecture so many flock to Portsmouth to see. The house sits in the middle of a warren of short streets where houses (all built before zoning and setbacks) were built right at the sidewalk creating the most pleasant walking experience. The symmetrical five-bay Federal house was built by Captain Drisco, who purchased the house lot after the Revolutionary War.
Buildings of New England 