Gilman Garrison House

Built in 1709 near the Squamscott River, the Gilman Garrison House preserves an unusual combination of fortified construction, Georgian domestic rooms, and later commercial uses. Its history connects Exeter’s early water-powered economy with generations of residents who adapted the building to support their livelihoods.

The Gilman family owned profitable sawmills along the river. Their fortified house protected both the household and its valuable industrial location. Massive horizontal timbers formed its walls, while defensive features included gun ports and a protected room. The building stood on Indigenous homelands, where colonial settlement and dams disrupted established patterns of fishing and river travel.

The Gilman family owned profitable sawmills along the river. Their fortified house protected both the household and its valuable industrial location. Massive horizontal timbers formed its walls, while defensive features included gun ports and a protected room. The building stood on Indigenous homelands, where colonial settlement and dams disrupted established patterns of fishing and river travel.

Later owners found other ways to earn income within its rooms. Ebenezer Clifford accommodated Phillips Exeter Academy students, including the young Daniel Webster. After inheriting the property in 1821, Clifford’s daughters, Betsy and Eunice, continued taking boarders and operated a successful millinery shop. Subsequent owner Asenath Harvey Darling maintained the hat-making business, making the house part of Exeter’s history of women’s enterprise.

Frances Perry Dudley purchased the property in 1912 and began restoring it. Her son, William Perry Dudley, continued the work and developed a museum. Their preservation saved important architectural features, although some stories passed down about the house—including supposed escape tunnels—were later found to lack evidence. The building therefore preserves a history of how the past was interpreted as well as how people lived.

Historic New England acquired the house in 1965. Tree-ring analysis later confirmed its 1709 construction date, replacing earlier assumptions that it dated to the seventeenth century. Its surviving structure continues to provide evidence through which the house’s long history can be examined and understood.