Built 1758 Designated NHL November 28, 1972 Area 404.7 m² Architectural style Georgian architecture | NRHP Reference # 72000084 Opened 1758 Phone +1 603-436-8420 Added to NRHP 28 November 1972 | |
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Location Portsmouth, New Hampshire Address 43 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801, USA Hours Closing soon · 11AM–5PMSunday11AM–5PMMonday11AM–5PMTuesday11AM–5PMWednesday11AM–5PMThursday11AM–5PMFriday11AM–5PMSaturday11AM–5PM Similar Moffatt‑Ladd House, MacPheadris‑Warner House, Discover Portsmouth Center, Rockingham Hotel, USS Albacore (AGSS‑569) | ||
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The John Paul Jones House is a historic house at 43 Middle Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Now a historic house museum and a National Historic Landmark, it is most significant as the only known surviving structure in the United States associated with American Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones, who was resident here in 1781-82 when it was operated as a boarding house.
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History
The 2-1/2 story wood frame house was built in 1758 by the master housewright Hopestill Cheswell, a successful African-American builder in the city. The house was built for Captain Gregory Purcell, who owned it with his wife Sarah until his death in 1776.
After Purcell's death his wife took in boarders, until her own death in 1783. The American naval hero John Paul Jones rented a room at the widow Purcell's during 1781-1782, while supervising construction of the ship America.
The house was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
Description
The house is 2-1/2 stories high, with a gambrel roof, and two chimneys projecting from the interior. A two-story addition to the northeast was added in the early 19th century. The five-bay main facade has a central entry topped by a segmented arch pediment, supported by flanking pilasters. The first floor windows of the main facade are topped by triangular pediments. The interior of the house follows a typical Georgian center-hall plan, with rooms flanking a central hall with stairs. To the left of the hall are a parlor in front, and a counting room or office in the rear, while to the right is a large dining room with what was originally the kitchen behind. Upstairs there are four bedrooms; that of Jones was in the southeast corner. The third floor has five bedrooms.
The downstairs rooms now contain museum exhibits, and the dining room has been decorated to early 19th-century taste. The house has belonged to the Portsmouth Historical Society since 1919, and is open to the public.