Historic New England: Gilman Garrison House

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A light blue, black, and white striped header image with the words Historic New England: Gilman Garrison House

Disclaimer: The following article refers to death by suicide. If you live in the United States and you or a loved one are in a suicidal crisis or emotional distress, call 988 or text HELLO to 741741 for help. To learn more, click this link to visit the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website.

During my three-day trip of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area, I visited Gilman Garrison House, a property of Historic New England (HNE). The rightfully paranoid Gilman family built the structure as a garrison, a fort that served as a living space and a tavern. The year of construction, 1709, is known thank to a test by the Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory in 2005. The owners of the house were equally eccentric and tragic.

A red-painted, two-story, clapboard house with two distinct sections on the corner of a busy intersection. A black and light blue sign on a wooden pole near a red-painted clapboard house. The words on the sign read in part 'Gilman Garrison House 1709'. The Historic New England logo is on the lower right corner. The corner of the red-painted clapboard house where the two sections of the house connect at a right angle. A plain wooden door with white trim is on the opposite wall.

The family feared attacks by the nearby Wabanaki and French Canadians because of the Raid on Deerfield at Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704, which had left 47 colonists dead and another 112 as prisoners of war. These attacks and retaliations were not uncommon, as previous conflicts included King Philip’s War from 1675 to 1678, and a future conflict would be the French and Indian War from 1754 to 1763. However, the Gilman Garrison House was never attacked. Later Gilmans altered the building to make it more home than fort, and the house doubled in size during the ownership by Peter Gilman in the late 18th century.

A small wooden model, about a foot long, of a mid 17th century colonial building. An architectural drawing of a mid 17th century colonial building with the label NORTH ELEVATION WHEN FIRST CONSTRUCTED A room with a low ceiling. The wall is painted olive green. A red brick fireplace with brass andirons is in the middle of the wall. A map is hung above the fireplace and to the upperleft. An old photograph of the house is propped up on the left of the fireplace.

The home was next purchased by Ebenezer Clifford, who assisted in the construction of Governor John Langdon House and Rundlet-May House, two properties owned by Historic New England that I visited later in the trip. Clifford was an inventor along with a builder, and he came up with an idea for a diving bell, the precursor to scuba gear. The system consisted of a large wooden barrel to trap air and a wooden swan. The model bird floating on the surface of the water to indicate the location of the bell. If a diver tugged the rope attached to the bird, it acted as a signal to raise the bell.

A tall clock with a wooden case, metal face, and brass finials. A wooden model of a white swan with an orange beak and a bluish-gray ruddar. A drawing illustration a ship, a diving bell, a shipwreck, and a small wooden swan. The text on the upper right of the image describes the invention of Ebenezer Clifford.

Clifford willed the house to his daughters, and the property would spend many years under the ownership of independent women. His daughters ordered their entire estate sold at auction upon their deaths, so little can be studied about his architecture. Asenath Harvey Darling bought the house on her own in 1864 despite being married, unusual if not scandalous at the time. Her sister, schoolteacher Jane Harvey, led tours of the house with her own version of its history. One highlight of her tours was showing a window desk the she claimed was used by Robert Lincoln, oldest son of Abraham Lincoln, who boarded in the house while attending Phillips Exeter Academy, although this was highly unlikely.

A reproduction 18th century style window with a wooden frame and diamond shaped panes of glass. A folded down wooden desk attached to a window ledge underneath a pair of white shutters. A pair of small plaques on a whitewashed wall describing the history of Gilman Garrison House

The final residents of the house were members of the Dudley family, descendents of the Gilmans. The mother, Frances Perry Dudley, took one of Jane Harvey’s tours, and purchased the property in 1912. Her son, wealthy architect William Perry Dudley, helped in restoring the house in a romanticized style, at least when he was not repairing a French castle, hobnobbing with the Rockefellers, or having dailiances with several women. This steady stream of new lovers was his downfall. In 1966, Dudley was in the process of divorcing his current wife, Marika Cassapoglou, while at the courthouse in Exeter. He attempted to murder Cassapoglou with a rifle but was unsuccessful. He then went the Gilman Garrison House and turned the weapon on himself.

Olive green wallpaper with black-and-white designs of peacocks, birdcages, and plants. Three whitewashed shelves holding an assortment of delft dishes. Seashell shaped coat hook attached to a plain wooden wall.

Due to the buildings historic and architectural value, along with the fact that most people are unwilling to live in a house associated with a death by suicide, the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (the lengthy original name for HNE) purchased the property soon after. The building was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial.

A reproduction fire bucket attached to whitewashed stairs and painted with the words N. Gilman J.F.N. A reproduction fire bucket attached near the front door near a modern fire extinguisher and fire alarm. It is painted with the words W.PERRY. 1821 An 18th century style window with square glass pains and a pair of wooden shudders.

Besides an unusual history, the house has several unusual features. The wall of the original section of the building are incredibly thick. A pulley above the front door once connected to a portcullis, a door that would drop down to keep out enemies. A little model of the portcullis was on the second floor. The romanticized design style of Dudley is set to a fantasy of the American Revolutionary War period, with federal-style furniture and tiles around the fireplace.

A small wooden model of a portcullis with working levers to drop a tiny door. A pulley embedded in the ceiling over an 18th century window. A red brick fireplace surrounded by reproduction delft tile.

With a cast of unconventional residents and a blueprint to match, Gilman Garrison House is unlike any house you will ever tour. I was fortunate to be a tour of one, with a highly knowledgeable and dryly humorous guide. Tours take place on Fridays and Saturdays from opening day in early June through closing day in mid October. Tours are on the hour from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admission is standard HNE small house pricing: $10 for adults, $9 seniors, $5 students and children, and free for HNE members (like me!)


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 12 Water St, Exeter, NH 03833, USA