Description and history
The Wilder-Holton House is prominently located at the northern end of Lancaster's Main Street, on the north side of the triangular junction of United States Routes 2 and 3. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, covered by a hip roof and finished in wooden clapboards. It is roughly square in shape, presenting five-bay facades in two directions. The main entrance faces east, sheltered by a single-story porch extending across three bays. There are presently three chimneys, although the remains of a large central chimney are found in the basement. The interior is presently arranged as a center-hall plan, and includes a large ballroom space on the second floor. The house was built in 1780 by Jonas Wilder, and is believed to be the first two-story building to be erected in what is now Coos County. It is also the oldest known surviving house in the county, earlier single-story buildings having succumbed. The house was a prominent local meeting point, serving in the 1790s for religious services before a church was built, and as the site of town meetings. In the early 19th century it probably also served as a boarding house, primarily serving visitors to the nearby county courthouse. It was originally associated with a much larger agricultural land-holding, and was associated with farming until the early 20th century. It has been owned by the Lancaster Historical Society since at least the 1960s.See also
*References
{{NRHP in Coos County, New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Houses completed in 1780 Houses in Coös County, New Hampshire Museums in Coös County, New Hampshire Historic house museums in New Hampshire Historical societies in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Coös County, New Hampshire Lancaster, New Hampshire