There is record of a house standing here as early as 1864, owned by Julia Ward (with D. Henshaw Ward). The current configuration of the house was done around 1900 by Hugh Sheridan when he came to town to buy the Ashelot Manufacturing Co. (woolen mill). He sold the house in 1916 when he also sold his businesses, though the house remained “The Sheridan House” from then on. The Sheridans were the ones who added the two-story ell at the back of the house, the wrap around porch, the parquet floors, and the upstairs fireplace. They also doubled the size of the barn to include stables, tack room, and feel room (all done in bead-board paneling).
The Ashuelot River is free from ice 10 months out of the year. That, and the change in elevation from Keene to the Connecticut River, made the entire river length very attractive to water powered mills. Hugh Sheridan was just one of many who had mills here. To give you some idea of how much product came out of this valley – five trains a day left fro the Ashelot Depot bound for Boston!
Tour the Sheridan House Museum:
- First Floor:
- Second Floor:
