Moses Kent House

Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

Not to be confused with the Moses-Kent House in Exeter, New Hampshire.

United States historic place

Moses Kent House

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Mural by Rufus Porter in the house, 1959 photograph

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Location| River Rd., Lyme, New Hampshire
Coordinates| 43°52′15″N 72°9′44″W﻿ / ﻿43.87083°N 72.16222°W﻿ / 43.87083; -72.16222
Built| 1811 (1811)
Architectural style| Federal
NRHP reference No.| 84002808[1]
Added to NRHP| June 7, 1984

The Moses Kent House is a historic house on River Road in Lyme, New Hampshire. Built in 1811, it is a good local example of Federal period architecture, most notable for the well-preserved murals on its interior walls, drawn by the itinerant artist Rufus Porter. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[1]

## Description and history

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The Moses Kent House stands in a rural setting just south of the Lyme-Orford border, on the east side of River Road north of Clay Brook. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof, two interior chimneys, and a clapboarded exterior. It is five bays wide and two deep, with a symmetrical front facade that has windows arranged symmetrically around the center entrance. The entrance has a fine Federal period surround, set in a shallow recess with flanking narrow pilasters and sidelight windows. The recess is itself framed by pilasters and topped by a half-round fan. The interior has a central hall plan, with two rooms on each side of the hall, which is divided into a front and rear section on the ground floor. The hall, left parlor, and second-floor left parlor chamber each have plaster walls on which murals have been drawn. The murals depict countryside scenes and views of harbors, classic thematic elements of the work of Rufus Porter.[2]

The house was built in 1811 by Moses Kent, and has been little altered structurally since its construction; the only major modification is the addition of a garage at the end of the ell in 1952.[2] The house has seen a variety of residential uses, including as a rental property, summer vacation home, and farmhouse. The interior underwent a careful restoration in the 1980s by historic preservationists familiar with Porter's work, and is now protected under a historic preservation easement.[3]

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Grafton County, New Hampshire

## References

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1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ a b "Moses Kent House". Connecticut River Joint Commission. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
3. ^ Steere, Kara (May–June 2014). "Restoring a Federal-style home in Lyme". New Hampshire Home. Retrieved 2018-07-23. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)

* v
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National Register of Historic Places in Grafton County, New Hampshire

National Historic
Landmark|

* The Epic of American Civilization Murals

Historic districts|

* Ashland Gristmill and Dam
* Canaan Street Historic District
* Central Square Historic District
* Colburn Park Historic District
* Dorchester Common Historic District
* Enfield Shaker Historic District
* Enfield Village Historic District
* Haverhill Corner Historic District
* Hebron Village Historic District
* Lyme Center Historic District
* Lyme Common Historic District
* Orford Street Historic District
* Plymouth Historic District
* Shepard Hill Historic District
* True Farm
* Webster Estate

Historic properties|

* Abbie Greenleaf Library
* Ashland Junior High School
* Ashland Railroad Station
* Bath Covered Bridge
* Bedell Covered Bridge‡
* Boulderwood
* Brick Store
* Bristol Town Hall
* Burleigh Brae and Webster Boathouse
* Burt–Cheney Farm
* Camp Carnes
* Camp Mowglis
* Camp Ossipee
* Canaan Meetinghouse
* Centre Village Meeting House
* Chapel of the Holy Cross
* Chocorua Island Chapel
* Daniel Carr House
* Dorchester Community Church
* Dow Academy
* Edward H. Lane House
* Enfield Center Town House
* Felsengarten
* First Free Will Baptist Church and Vestry
* Frost Place
* Goodall-Woods Law Office
* Great Hollow Road Stone Arch Bridge
* Hanover Town Library
* Haverhill–Bath Covered Bridge
* Hewitt House
* Holderness Free Library
* Holderness Inn
* Jeremiah Hutchins Tavern
* Lisbon Inn
* Littleton Town Building
* Lovett's by Lafayette Brook
* Lyme–East Thetford Bridge‡
* Minot–Sleeper Library
* Morey Memorial Bridge‡
* Moses Kent House
* Norman and Marion Perry House
* North Holderness Freewill Baptist Church–Holderness Historical Society Building
* Old Grafton County Courthouse
* Owls Head
* Piermont Bridge‡
* The Rocks
* Rockywold–Deephaven Camps
* Sawyer–Medlicott House
* Sphinx Tomb
* Spring Hill Farm
* St. Mark's Episcopal Church
* Stone Arch Underpass
* Swiftwater Covered Bridge
* Thayer's Hotel
* Trinity Church
* US Post Office and Courthouse–Littleton Main
* Watch Rock Camp
* Whipple House
* Woodsville Opera Building

Footnotes|

‡This historic property also has portions in an adjacent state.

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Grafton County, New Hampshire and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Hampshire
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