The Abbot House, also known as the Abbot-Spalding House, is a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
at One Abbot Square in
Nashua, New Hampshire. Built in 1804, it is one of the area's most prominent examples of
Federal period architecture, albeit with substantial early 20th-century
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...
alterations. The house was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1980,
and the
New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places
The New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places (NHSRHP) is a register of historic places administered by the state of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Buildings, districts, sites, landscapes (such as cem ...
in 2002.
It is now owned by the Nashua Historical Society, which operates it as a museum; it is open by appointment.
Description and history
Abbot Square is a triangular green just north of downtown Nashua, bounded by Amherst Street, Concord Street, and Nashville Street. The Abbot House stands on the north side of Nashville Street, facing south. It is a two-story wood-frame house with brick side walls, a locally rare feature. It is covered by a truncated
hip roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...
, with a low balustrade around the outer edge. The front facade is five bays wide, with windows symmetrically placed around a slightly wider central bay. The main entrance is in the center, sheltered by a rectangular portico supported by four large fluted columns and topped by a balustrade.
[
The house was built in 1804 for Daniel Abbot, a prominent local resident. It was owned 1854–1892 by George Perham, under whose ownership the exterior was given an extensive Victorian treatment, which included a three-story tower in the central bay. Purchased in 1905 by William Spaulding, he removed most of the Victorian alterations, while adding Colonial Revival features, including the present portico.]
See also
*
* New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 267: Abbot-Spalding House
References
External links
Abbot-Spalding House Museum
- Nashua Historical Society
{{NRHP in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire
Federal architecture in New Hampshire
Greek Revival houses in New Hampshire
Houses completed in 1804
Buildings and structures in Nashua, New Hampshire
Historic house museums in New Hampshire
Historic district contributing properties in New Hampshire
Houses in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Museums in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
National Register of Historic Places in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places