148 



prominent mountains in the southern part of New Hamp- 

 shire. The vessels and islands of the harbor can be seen, 

 and the venerable Mr. Samuel Preston informed us that 

 he has counted over fifty church steeples from this 

 summit. The farm which includes this hill was part of 

 the old Hathorne grant, that originally came down to 

 the brook which runs through the Peabody farm. It has 

 been successively owned by Mr. Eay, Eben Porter, 

 James Prince, Nathaniel IngersoU (son of Capt. Jona.), 

 Capt. John AndrcAv (who built and owned Mr. James O. 

 Safford's present mansion near the common, in Salem), 

 Capt. Stephen Wilkins, John Dexter (who came from 

 Essex), and Francis Dodge, the present owner and occu- 

 pant. Mr. Dodge married a daughter of Samuel Preston, 

 and sister of Miss Harriet Preston, the authoress. Mr. 

 Preston, who is now eighty-one years of age, was here at 

 the form at the time of our call, and showed us around with 

 great apparent pleasure, cheerfulness and activity. His 

 room in the farmhouse was very interesting, a fine old 

 English ivy, W'hich extended nearly all the way around the 

 room, claiming special attention. Capt. Andrew, during 

 his ownership, planted a grove of English oaks on this 

 hill, which are now vigorous and thrifty. This farm has 

 recently been offered, with some forty-two acres belonging 

 to Mr. W. K. Putnam, making two hundred acres in all, 

 as a site for the new State hospital for the insane. It is 

 certainly a fine situation. 



The Israel Putnam house, at the foot of the hill, is a 

 mansion bearing every mark of comfort, inside and out. 

 The larger portion of the house is not conspicuously old, 

 there being not much left of the original part beyond the 

 portion containing the two rooms which formerly consti- 

 tuted the one in which Gen. Israel was born. The farm 

 descended from Thomas Putnam, to whom it was origi- 



