In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, I wrote an article in the July 16, 2026 edition of the Seacoast Scene newspaper about some local historic houses on the Seacoast that have ties to the American Revolution.
Historic house museums have been struggling to attract visitors for a long time, but visits to historic houses have actually increased in the past few years, so I decided to write this article hoping that with all of the excitement around America’s 250th, it might entice more people to visit these historic houses and sites where the American Revolution took place.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has many historic houses with ties to the American Revolution. I chose two of the most popular ones, the Moffatt-Ladd House and the Langdon House, and wrote a brief history about them.
I also visited Portsmouth a few days after the 4th of July and took some photos of these beautiful houses while they were all decorated for the holiday. They were stunning to see in person, and they looked fantastic all decked out in their red, white, and blue decorations.
Both houses are fascinating because they were not only the homes of a general and a patriot, William Whipple and Governor John Langdon, who participated in the Revolutionary War, but Whipple and Langdon were also founding fathers, one of whom signed the Declaration of Independence and the other signed the United States Constitution, respectively.
“As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden Museum offers locals a rare chance to explore Portsmouth’s role in the Revolutionary War,” explained Claire Paley, marketing & operations manager at Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden.
The Moffatt-Ladd House was also home to Whipple’s slaves, Prince and his wife, Dinah. Prince fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary War and was a signer of the Petition of Freedom, which unsuccessfully petitioned the New Hampshire Council and House of Representatives to abolish slavery in New Hampshire in 1779.
I also wrote about the Sayward-Wheeler House in York, Maine, which has a unique story because it was the home of a loyalist named Jonathan Sayward and his slaves Prince and Cato, who joined the Continental Army and fought for America’s independence against Sayward’s will.
I wish I had more space in the article to write about these brave enslaved people and their stories because they are fascinating, but I only had 700 words, so I had to cut it to keep it short.
Sayward’s story is also interesting because although he was a loyalist, he didn’t flee the country and was actually allowed to reclaim his social status after the Revolutionary War ended, which is quite unusual.
So if you’re interested in learning more about the American Revolution and want to visit some historic houses this summer, check out one of these great historic house museums in New Hampshire or Maine.
The following is a list of sources I used to write the article, if you want to read more about them.
Sources:
“Moffatt Ladd House & Garden.” American Heritage, americanheritage.com/content/moffatt-ladd-house-garden
“Gardens and Grounds.” Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden, moffattladd.org/tree-of-independence
“Prince Whipple & Dinah Chase Whipple.” Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden, moffattladd.org/prince-whipple-and-dinah-chase
“Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden.” Visit NH, visitnh.gov/business/detail/252
“Langdon House (1784).” Historic New England, historicnewengland.org/property/governor-john-langdon-house/
“Behind the Exhibition: Jonathan Sayward, Reluctant Loyalist.” Historic New England, historicnewengland.org/behind-the-exhibition-jonathan-sayward-reluctant-loyalist/
“Historic Langdon House in Portsmouth Has Held Washington, Louis Philippe, and Gen. Lafayette.” The Boston Herald, 3 Mar. 1907, p. 16.
“NH Historical Society Left Langdon House.” The Telegraph, 31 Aug. 1945, p. 7.
“Antiquarians Acquire Historic Langdon House.” The Boston Globe, 26 Sept. 1947, p. 18.
“Jonathan Sayward: Loyalist from York.” Seacoast Online, 11 Oct. 2016, seacoastonline.com/story/news/2016/10/11/jonathan-sayward-loyalist-from-york/25223595007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z113612e003900v113612d–40–b–40–&gca-ft=131&gca-ds=sophi