Daniel Carr House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Daniel Carr House
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | Brier Hill Rd. N side, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from jct. with NH 10, Haverhill, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Built | 1825 |
| Built by | Carr, John; Porter, Rufus |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 92000156 |
| Added to NRHP | March 27, 1992 |
The Daniel Carr House is a really old and special house located on Brier Hill Road in Haverhill, New Hampshire. It was built around 1796. What makes this house so famous are the amazing folk murals painted on its walls. These beautiful paintings were most likely created by a traveling artist named Rufus Porter between 1825 and 1830. Because of its unique art and history, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Exploring the Daniel Carr House
The Daniel Carr House sits in a quiet, country area in northern Haverhill. You can find it on a dirt road that goes west from Brier Hill Road. It's a connected farmstead, which means the main house is linked to other buildings, like a barn.
What Makes This House Special?
The main part of the house has two and a half stories. It has five windows across the front, with the main door in the middle. The door has fancy columns on the sides and a window above it. Older parts of the house, called "ells," stretch out from the main building towards a barn.
Inside, the house has a central hallway with rooms on either side. A staircase goes up to the second floor from this hall. The most exciting parts are the walls! In the western living room and both levels of the hall, you can see painted and stenciled artwork. These paintings are above wooden panels and chair rails.
The living room walls are painted in many colors and show different scenes. You might spot the Portland Observatory or a group of houses on an island. The paintings in the hall and on the stairwell are simpler, using just one color. They are less detailed but still very artistic. The special patterns around the edges of these rooms are careful copies of the original designs.
A Glimpse into History
The main part of the house was built around 1825 to 1830, probably by John Carr. It was connected to an even older building from about 1796, which Daniel Carr built. That older part was rebuilt in the 1980s.
The famous murals on the walls were most likely painted by Rufus Porter. He was an "itinerant artist," meaning he traveled from place to place to paint. He probably created these murals between 1825 and 1830, as he was known to be working in this area during that time.
The house was empty for twenty years before a big restoration project began in the 1980s. This effort helped bring the house back to life. As of 2014, the Daniel Carr House was still owned by members of the Carr family, keeping its history alive.
