Historic Stratham Home Named to National Register of Historic Places

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources is proud to announce that the Bartlett-Cushman House in Stratham has been honored by the United States Secretary of the Interior with placement on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is significant both for its architecture and its social history.

Built in 1827, the Bartlett-Cushman is an excellent example of a Federal-style hip-roofed house. It retains distinctive original details, including a semi-elliptical louvered fan above the front entrance. In the mid-19th century, several Italianate features were added.

Unusual for a property of its age, the building’s original February 1827 construction contract between Josiah Bartlett II and the builder, Joshua Pike of Exeter, still exists and details the original building plans.

The property’s social significance is also important. While it has had a series of owners, two families, the Bartletts (1827-1892) and the Cushmans (1913-2013), raised generations of families in the house, under very different circumstances that reflected their times.

In a community dominated by farming, the Bartletts were well-respected and well-educated physicians; both Josiah Bartlett II and his nephew, Josiah Bartlett III, practiced medicine in the home. The family patriarch, Josiah Bartlett, was a member of the Continental Congress and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In the early 20th century, prosperous Stratham farmer Otis French purchased the property for his married daughters, Susie Cushman and Bessie Robinson, who used it as a two-family dwelling, sharing the kitchen. Unlike the socially prominent Bartletts, the Cushmans and Robinsons were working class, holding jobs like private chauffer and carpenter.

Administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation and is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect our historic and archaeological resources.

For more information on the National Register program in New Hampshire, please visit nh.gov/nhdhr or contact Peter Michaud at the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources at 603-271-3483.

New Hampshire’s Division of Historical Resources, the “State Historic Preservation Office,” was established in 1974. The historical, archaeological, architectural and cultural resources of New Hampshire are among its most important environmental assets. Historic preservation promotes the use, understanding and conservation of such resources for the education, inspiration, pleasure and enrichment of New Hampshire’s citizens.

For more information, visit nh.gov/nhdhr or call 603-271-3483.

Submitted text and courtesy photos.