Historic Homes
Hamilton House (1785)
BY
J. Dennis Robinson
PHOTOGRAPHY
Courtesy of Historic New England

This colonial era mansion grows ever larger as you canoe towards it on the Salmon Falls River or motor up the back country lane. It looms suddenly overhead as you break from the dark pines on Vaughan Woods trail and climb the terraced hill. I have approached Hamilton House, South Berwick’s greatest treasure, from every angle, and it always takes my breath away. 

Writer Sarah Orne Jewett felt the same thrill in the 19th century. She called Hamilton House “unrivaled for the beauty of its situation.” Jewett was so enamored of the stately house that she wrapped her novel The Tory Lover around it.  She imagined the mansion in the 18th century when sailing ships bearing cargo from the West India Trade reached all the way to the busy wharf and warehouses here. That traffic was long gone by the author’s time and the colonial home was in danger of ruin.

In 1898 Jewett encouraged two wealthy Boston women, Emily and Elise Tyson, to buy the house and its 110 riverside acres. The Tysons spent a lifetime adapting the mansion to their own romantic vision of the past. They filled it with antiques, commissioned elaborate murals depicting ancient Italy, sculpted the formal gardens and added a charming summer cottage.

In 1949 it all became a museum. Long the property of rich and fashionable owners, Hamilton House is now in the public domain and I wander the grounds whenever possible. For a few moments, at least, every visitor can stake a claim on this magnificent and dignified scene.


VISIT THIS HOUSE:
From Route 236, turn left onto Brattle Street, then take second left to the very end of Vaughan’s Lane. House tours are offered on the hour (11 am to 4 pm) Wednesday through Sunday until October 15. Admission is $8 or $4 for children 6-12.  For more information call 207-384-2454. Hamilton House is owned by Historic New England, www.historicnewengland.org.