Ephraim & Sarah Conant Heald House

Temple, New Hampshire

Maj. Ephraim Heald [1734-1815] and his wife Sarah Conant [1737-1825], though both born in Townsend, Massachusetts, were among the first settlers of Temple, New Hampshire. They purchased extensive acreage in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, including the land where this house now stands, from Maj. Heald’s father, Ephraim Heald, Sr. [1710/11-1802] of Townsend, Massachusetts.

Ephraim and Sarah moved their young family from Townsend to a cabin on the property in Temple at some time between 1759 and 1761. This estimated date is based on the fact that Hannah, born in 1760, is regarded as the first white girl child born in Temple. During the years that followed, Ephraim added a large addition to the cabin.

In 1783, the Healds built a new house, and annexed to it the large addition that had been added earlier to the cabin. A stonemason from Vermont was hired to build the large central chimney, which served the house’s five fireplaces. One of the fireplaces is faced with soapstone that was carved with a graceful foliate design of fruits and flowers. One of the rooms boasts a corner closet*, an unusual feature in Temple at the time. The house remains an excellent example of saltbox architecture.

The large addition, though attached first to the cabin and later to the new house, served as a schoolroom for more than sixty years. On 12 October 1820, the selectmen of Temple“voted to give the widow Sarah Heald three dollars for the use of her kitching [sic] ten weeks next winter.”

Ephraim and Sarah Conant Heald’s house was sold out of the family CS. 1853.

In 1888 the addition was removed from the house and relocated on the property to serve as a guesthouse.

     * corner cupboard