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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



March, 1908 



The Historic Wentworth House 



By Mary H. Northend 



Photographs by the Author 



EW old houses in our country possess more 

 historic interest than does the old Went- 

 worth Mansion, at Little Harbor, two miles 

 from the business center of Portsmouth, 

 N. H. It is now the property of Mr. J. 

 Templeman Coolidge, Jr., of Boston, Mass. 

 He has preserved all that was distinctly Co- 

 lonial in both interior and exterior, and occupies the place as 

 a summer residence. Great praise is due to the perfect taste 

 with which he has restored the garden to its distinctly old- 

 fashioned effects, and has observed all the memorable tradi- 

 tions with regard to the buildings themselves. 



Nobody knows the age of the oldest portion of this house. 

 It is supposed to have been a farmhouse of ordinary dimen- 

 sions, when bought by Governor Benning Wentworth, in 

 1750. At his death the estate was left to his widow; and by 

 her, to her daughter by her second husband. When this 

 daughter left this country to live in Europe, the Little Har- 

 bor estate was sold to Mr. Charles Cushing, and by his 

 grandson to the present owner. It has always been in the 

 possession of persons of great hospitality, and has been 

 identified with all the leading events of the country. 



Visitors to Portsmouth find at Little Harbor much to in- 

 terest them, even if they are ignorant of the historic events 

 connected with this old mansion; but since these events seem 

 to form its appropriate atmosphere, we will consider each 

 part of the house in turn with regard to its well-known 

 traditions. 



From the high road we enter the curving avenue, to seek 

 an unseen house, quite hidden behind hills and trees. The 



trees are stately, and the length of the avenue gives us ample 

 opportunity to enjoy them before another turn in the avenue 

 brings us face to face with the object of our search. 



The house might be termed an architectural freak, for it is 

 of no particular style or period, yet the whole effect is won- 

 derfully attractive. Governor Wentworth, in building to 

 please himself, has pleased the eye of posterity as well. 

 This is no huddled heap of unhappy afterthoughts, but a 

 stately pile, with wings so joined to the main building that 

 the whole occupies three sides of a hollow square, with the 

 open end facing the water. The entire structure has con- 

 tained fifty-five rooms, but changes of interior have dimin- 

 ished the number to thirty-two at present. The main part is 

 two stories in height, and connection between rooms is made 

 by winding staircases and unexpected passages, most stimu- 

 lating to the imagination. 



The main entrance is now at one side, but the original en- 

 trance, fronting the avenue, as it did in the governor's day, 

 is flanked by two statues of youths in Colonial costume, the 

 one representing an angler and the other a hunter armed 

 with Rip Van Winkle fowling piece. Both extend mute wel- 

 come to the coming guest, for hospitality has always been 

 the watchword of the Wentworth Mansion. 



The porch, which we have now reached, is the same used 

 by Governor Wentworth, the same which was pressed by the 

 feet of Washington, when, during his Portsmouth visit in 

 1789, he entered this house on his return from a fishing 

 trip down the river, and was royally entertained by the 

 former housemaid, then for many years the mistress of the 

 mansion. 



The Historic Wentworth House Is Now the Summer Home of Mr. J. Templeman Coolidge, Jr. 



