Abner Sanborn House

I"m known as the Sanborn House and I was built back in 1750 by Major William Prescott, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, making me one of the oldest homes in Hampton Falls. Did you know that starting in 1857, I stood empty for at least 50 years after my owner at the time, John C Sanborn, built a new home next door and moved out? But just about everything inside was left untouched and people liked to visit to see what life was like during the Civil War era. You could see my central fireplace that's large enough for a person to sit in, along with a variety of pots and pans hanging from the massive mantel. And a large spinning wheel sat close by.

Eventurally, I began to show signs of decay and neglect, and there was even a plan to move me to Dearborn, Michigan! Thankfully, the facade that you are looking at right now was in such bad shape that is was decided I could not be moved. I had to wait until after world war 2 - starting in the 1940s- for a series of owners to invest in extensive renovation and restoration work. In the 1960s, the Ackroyd family completed the work, keeping everything as authentic as possible, based on some very old photographic negatives they found of both my interior and exterior.  And before you leave, look across the road at the field that some of you might remember as "The Other Christmas Tree Farm."