The New Hampshire Governor's Mansion, known as "Bridges House", is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

and the governor's family. Bridges House, located at 21 Mountain Road in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...

, the capital of

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, has served as the governor's official residence since 1969. Built in 1836, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in December 2005, 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 Government of New Hampshire, state of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Buildings, districts, si ...

in July 2005.

Description and history

The New Hampshire Governor's Mansion is located in a rural-residential setting about north of downtown Concord, on the west side of Mountain Road (

New Hampshire Route 132 New Hampshire Route 132 (abbreviated NH 132) is a north–south highway in Belknap and Merrimack counties in central New Hampshire. NH 132 runs from Concord north to Ashland in the Lakes Region, parallel to Interstate 93. The southern term ...

) north of the East Concord exit from

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

. It is set on eleven landscaped acres, with views toward downtown Concord, Rattlesnake Hill, and the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

valley. The house is a story brick building, with a side gable roof and end chimneys. It is oriented facing south, with a five-bay front facade. The main entrance is at the center, flanked by sidelight windows and topped by an entablature and granite lintel. Windows are set in rectangular openings, with granite sills, and granite lintels on the first-floor windows. The street-facing east facade has a pedimented brick gable with a deep recess at the center and ogee crown moulding along the rake edge. The house was built by Charles Graham about 1836. It is a particularly early example in the state of Greek Revival architecture executed in brick, a building material that was only then beginning to come into wider use for home construction in central New Hampshire.

Styles Bridges Henry Styles Bridges (September 9, 1898November 26, 1961) was an American teacher, editor, and Republican Party politician from Concord, New Hampshire. He served one term as the 63rd governor of New Hampshire before a twenty-four-year career ...

, governor of New Hampshire (1935–37) and

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

for 25 years thereafter, lived in the house from 1946 until his death. Bequeathed to the state upon the death of his widow Doloris Bridges, in 1969 it became the governor's official residence. During the 1980s, New Hampshire First Lady Nancy Sununu oversaw the first major renovations in the mansion's history. Not all governors live in the mansion during their tenure. Recent examples include John Lynch, a resident of nearby Hopkinton, and

Maggie Hassan Margaret Wood Hassan ( ; ; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator for New Hampshire since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Hassan was the 81st governor of New Hampshire, ...

, a resident of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, who resided instead on the campus of

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

where her husband, Thomas Hassan, served as principal.

References

External links

Friends of Bridges House
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Hampshire Governor's Mansion Governors' mansions in the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Houses in Concord, New Hampshire Houses completed in 1836 New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Concord, New Hampshire Governor of New Hampshire

Description and history

See also

References

External links