Dr. Charles Sanborn House

I’ve had the distinction of being home to many members of the Sanborn family – I sit on the homesteading land of Reuben Sanborn, and the original part of the house, as seen from Nason Road, was built in 1783 by Joseph Perkins. As his family grew, he added the front portion by purchasing another house from town built before 1800, and moving it into place. His wife, Sarah Perkins, outlived her husband and seven children, and for time I became known as the “Widow Perkins” place.
My ownership came full circle in 1867 when Dr. Charles Sanborn, a practicing physician for over 40 years, moved back in. Dr. Sanborn made house calls in his buggy with his teenage son, and his original desk sits in my kitchen today. You can still see gouges from old wheelchairs on many of my original door frames.
I also have two original fireplaces, doors and woodwork, and even part of an outhouse. Dr. Sanborn loved this old farm and wrote news stories and tips for local farmers as a contributor to the Exeter Newsletter under the name of Pax for many years.