Cushman House

Samuel Cushman’s House is located at 58 Washington Street, on the west side of the road and just south of the intersection with Court Street.

Captain John Salter, who lived next door (south), built this house in 1791.  The house is named for Samuel Cushman, a Portsmouth native born on June 8, 1783. Cushman married one of Salter’s daughters and moved into this home in 1816. He held many public offices, including a member of the N. H. House of Representatives from 1833-1835 and U. S. Congressman from 1835-1839.

As you walk north on Washington Street and approach Court Street, Strawbery Banke is to your right. You pass the Daniel Webster House, the Walsh House, the Penhallow House, the Conant House, and the Chase House. Most pedestrians probably do not notice the unmarked, boxy white building across the street.

Still a privately-owned residence, the Cushman House is easily recognized as the mansion built by John Salter when George Washington, hero of the American Revolution, was President of the United States. Samuel Cushman moved in shortly after the second conflict with Great Britain, the War of 1812. The building's namesake lived here while serving in Congress under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

Even the stone sidewalk in front of the house dates from the 19th Century!