The Ladd-Gilman House, also known as Cincinnati Memorial Hall, is a historic house at 1 Governors Lane in

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 16,049 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county ...

, United States. It is 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 ...

and is designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

History

The home was built about 1721 by Nathaniel Ladd as one of the state's first brick houses, and was subsequently clapboarded three decades later. The home was purchased in 1747 by Daniel Gilman, a prominent Exeter merchant. It served as the state treasury during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

when two members of the Gilman family, Col. Nicholas Gilman and his son

John Taylor Gilman John Taylor Gilman (December 19, 1753September 1, 1828) was a farmer, shipbuilder and statesman from Exeter, New Hampshire. He represented New Hampshire in the Continental Congress in 1782–1783 and was the fifth governor of New Hampshire for ne ...

, later the state's governor, served as treasurers of the state. Also born in the house was

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

Nicholas Gilman, Jr., a signer of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

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 ...

from New Hampshire. Nicholas Gilman Max Rosenthal

The Ladd-Gilman House was declared a

in 1973, principally for its association with Nicholas Gilman, Jr. and It has been maintained since 1902 by the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...

, in which organization the Gilman family took a prominent role. In 1985, a

Dunlap Broadside The physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence spans from its original drafting in 1776 into the discovery of historical documents in the 21st century. This includes a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published br ...

was discovered in the home's attic. The document is one of the first published copies of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

, printed on the night of July 4, 1776. The Ladd-Gilman House and its grounds are now part of the American Independence Museum, which opened in 1991. The noted Dunlap Broadside is the centerpiece of the museum’s collection.

Description and construction history

The house is a rambling frame structure, consisting of a main block and a series of additions. The main block was originally built as a two-story brick structure. After Daniel Gilman purchased the house in 1747, it was extensively altered by Col. Nathaniel Gilman, his son. He removed the wall separating the two rooms on the right side, and built the two-bay addition beside it, knocking down the original house wall on that side, and then clapboarding the rest of the house to match the new work. A further addition, originally designed as a caretaker's residence, was added after the Society of the Cincinnati acquired the house in 1902. The interior portions of the main house feature original woodwork, including paneling, deep window seats, and fluted

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

References

External links

The Ladd-Gilman House, American Independence Museum, Exeter

{{NRHP in Rockingham County, New Hampshire National Historic Landmarks in New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Houses completed in 1721 Gilman family (New Hampshire) Historic house museums in New Hampshire Biographical museums in New Hampshire Buildings and structures in Exeter, New Hampshire Museums in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Houses in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Homes of United States Founding Fathers Society of the Cincinnati 1720s establishments in New Hampshire

History

Description and construction history

See also

References

External links