Quote: Before I start let me say that coming the second weekend of June was not the greatest idea in the world . Only a handful of the beautiful houses in Portsmouth were open. Most of them open in June but not until after mid-June. So much for great planning.

One that was open is the Governor John Langdon House. The House is open Friday through Sunday from 1 to 4pm with tours taking place on the hour. We arrived at 2:03 and the tour had already departed. We decided to move our car closer and take a walk in the garden. The rose arbor was still bare but the Peonies were in full bloom.

We became the 3pm tour when another family joined us and our guide Honey Springer. The House is owned and operated by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Entrance is $6 unless you have a AAA card and then it becomes 2 for 1, which is a great deal.

John Langdon was born into an old New England family with humble origins. He made his money as a sea captain and merchant. He became a patriot when one of his ships was seized by the British. Nothing like a good hit in the wallet to bring out a mans patriotism. He became one of the committee of correspondence , a group of men who risked their lives spreading the news about the Revolution . He was also part of the raid on Fort William Henry. He was a major financial supporter of the Revolution stating that if the war was lost he was going to lose everything anyway. He actually came out of the War a wealthy and influential man and served three terms as Governor of New Hampshire as well as being one of the signers of the Constitution.

His home reflects this importance. A combination of Georgian and Federal architecture it has aspects of both. The Georgian carving was done by ship carvers and there is some very nice carving not only on the crown molding but on the fireplaces in the downstairs parlor and the assembly room. A sign of his growing importance is that George Washington visited here in 1809 and James Monroe in 1819. Lafayette may even have visited which would explain the fleur dis lys in the design of the Assembly room.

The house is lightly furnished with period antiques that were made in Portsmouth. Only the piano and the sideboard are original to the house. Though the dining set was made for the house in the 20th century.

The newer part of the house was designed by renowned New York architect Stanford White for Wentworth Langdon in the early 20th century. The tour only visits one room , the dining room from that addition.

The tour takes less than an hour, you will need to put show covers over your feet and photography is not allowed inside.
From journals Romance on the E-Coast