Historical Hamilton House
Hamilton House and its gardens sits on the bank of the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick, ME
One of the things I love about living on the seacoast of New Hampshire is the many historical houses open to visit. Portsmouth is full of them, but there is a hidden gem if you drive 25 minutes into Maine: Hamilton House is a Georgian mansion (circa 1785) that sits on the Salmon Falls River, and abuts Vaughan Woods Memorial State Park in South Berwick. It is cared for by Historical New England, and while you can tour the inside of the house June - October for a fee, you can walk the grounds all year long for free.
I started bringing my dad there when I was looking for small field trips for us to take. In spring we walked the gardens and sat on a bench overlooking the river. It felt like we were in a world 100 years behind the current time: quiet and bucolic, surrounded by nature, with no sounds of cars.
Finally June came along and we could get inside for a look. That is when I learned that the property is far more serene now than it was back in the day. Johnathan Hamilton had a shipping business in the 18th century, and built a dry dock below the house on the tidal Salmon Falls River. Apparently that was both a noisy and dusty affair. In the 19th century the property was farmed by the Goodwin family, who had thousands of sheep there. It sat empty for a spell, and then was restored as a summer retreat by Emily Tyson and her daughter in the 20th century. They commissioned two murals for the downstairs, and the house is still filled with their collection of textiles and furniture. It is a lovely treat to step back into time, and enjoy the simple, elegant architecture; particularly the high ceilings and large windows. Being in a space where each object or piece of furniture was hand crafted by an artisan, and there is no contemporary box store crap, is always inspiring to me.
A mural wraps around a whole room, hand hooked rugs, and a snapshot of wallpaper in Hamilton House.