Peter Tilton House

I was built by Captain Jonathan Tilton for his son Peter between 1770 – 1780, after his older sons settled on nearby farms. Peter, born in 1750, rose to great prominence in town, serving as a selectman for six terms, as a state legislator, and as town moderator. Peter’s son, also named Peter, inherited the house, and passed it along to family members.  Together, five generations of Tiltons lived here. A complete copy of the Tilton family tree from 1645 to 1900 was discovered rolled up and hidden away in a cupboard in 1958. It shows that United States President Millard Fillmore was a descendant of the Tiltons.  I retain most of my original features, including the large center chimney you can see from here. The house had both a cow barn and a horse barn. The horse barn was turned into an appliance store in the late 1940’s called The Red Barn. More recently, it was the home of a clock repair business. One old story is that one of my earlier residents was so grief stricken when his wife died that he wedged himself in a tree and died. Some boys walking through the woods saw a pair of shoes, and looking up, discovered the body.