Historic New England presents a walking tour of the Hamilton House grounds and surrounding neighborhood on Thursday, Oct 15 at 4:30 p.m. Stroll through Oldfields, the oldest part of South Berwick and home to the Hamilton House built circa 1785. Site manager Peggy Wishart will lead the tour. “We’ll try to imagine the landscape as it was when Jonathan Hamilton occupied the big house and the river was busy with ships and gundalows,” said Wishart.
The tour will begin in the Hamilton House Visitor Center located in the brown garden cottage and proceed up Vaughan’s Lane to the Vine Street Cemetery to visit Hamilton’s grave. Along the way, Wishart will point out colonial homesteads and the former site of the garrison and First Parish Church. “We’ll discuss aspects of the early community – the saw mills, the Indian threat, the maritime economy- that shaped the lives of the people of Oldfields,” explains Wishart.
Pre-registration for the tour is requested. To register, call the South Berwick office of Historic New England at 207-384-2454. Tour admission is $5 for Historic New England members, $10 for non-members. Please note, the walking tour will not include a tour of the interior of the Hamilton House. Those wishing to tour the house may arrange to do so at no additional cost when calling to register for the walking tour. Hamilton House closes for the season after the October 15 walking tour.
Photo by Geraldine Aikman.
