Moses Eaton Jr. House


The Moses Eaton Jr. House is a historic house on Hancock Road in Harrisville, New Hampshire. Built about 1782, it is one of the oldest houses in the eastern part of Harrisville, and was home for fifty years to the itinerant folk stenciler Moses Eaton Jr. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Description and history

The Moses Eaton Jr. House stands in a rural area in eastern Harrisville, at the northeast corner of Hancock Road and Sargent Camp Road. It is a 1-1/2 story plank-frame Cape style structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade faces south, and is five bays wide, with sash windows arranged around a central entry. The front roof face is pierced by a pair of two-window shed-roof dormers. A single-story ell extends to the rear, joining the house to an 18th-century barn. The interior retains some early period features, including stencilwork by its best-known resident.
The house was built about 1782 by Daniel Warren, a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is one of the best-preserved plank-style Capes in Harrisville, and the oldest building in the Eastview area of the town. It is also notable as the home for many years of the itinerant folk stenciler Moses Eaton Jr. Eaton and his father both practiced this trade, and instances of their work survive in houses scattered throughout New England. The shed-roof dormers were added to the house around 1916.