Gilman Garrison House, 1709
A National Historic Landmark
12 Water Street
Exeter, N.H. 03833
(603) 436-3205

Directions

Open : Saturday, June 7, 11am - 5pm.
           Saturday, July 19, 11am - 4pm.
           Saturday, August 23, 11am - 5pm.

Admission : Free on June 7 and July 19, $5 on August 23, Historic New England Members free. Tours on the hour.

Private Heritage Tours available with advanced reservations. Please call 617-227-3956.

From the first English settlements of the 1630s to the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the frontier towns of New England lived with the threat of Indian attack. The Gilman Garrison House, described in 1719 as "the old logg house," was built as a fortified house, strategically sited to protect the valuable sawmills and waterpower sites owned by John Gilman.

The interior of this unusual building reveals walls constructed of massive sawn logs and a pulley above the main entrance that was used to operate a portcullis, or reinforced door. In the mid 18th century, Peter Gilman substantially remodeled the house, adding a wing with elegantly paneled rooms.

The building was restored in the 1950s by local preservationist William Dudley to reveal its early architecture and to commemorate the lives of its varied occupants over the centuries.

Other nearby Historic New England museums include the Governor John Langdon House, Rundlet-May House, Jackson House, Hamilton House, Sarah Orne Jewett House, and Sayward-Wheeler House.

Directions: Take I-95 to New Hampshire Exit 2. Follow Route 101 west 3.5 miles to Route 108 south. Continue one mile to Exeter. Turn right onto High Street. The Gilman Garrison House is three blocks ahead, just after a small bridge.