The bright and sunny dining-room, which leads off the library, ends with a wide fireplace, over which are hung portraits, painted from life, of Daniel Webster and Jackson. The house is filled with the most beautiful pieces of old colonial furniture, a rare old sideboard and grandfather's clock, which were the property of Governor Pierce, being found in the dining-room. Both of these stood originally in the governor's house at Hillsboro, New Hampshire.
Opposite the sideboard is a wonderful old wine cooler which belonged to Robert Morris, while above it hangs a speaking likeness of the man himself, painted by Gilbert Stuart. This is indeed a rare and beautiful treasure, as is the framed letter below it, which is addressed to Mrs. Morris, bearing the date 1790, and signed by both George and Martha Washington.
Rare old china, a full set of Tokio, together with cut glass presented to Governor Pierce when he was the chief magistrate of New Hampshire, are among the treasures in this room. Throughout this old house there is not a piece of furniture or a bit of china that is not rich in historic associations. Every room has its large old fireplace, fitted with old brass and iron fenders and accessories, each of unusual shape. The hearths are filled with birch logs and pine cones.
Ascending the odd old staircase at the end of the entrance hall, which winds by low treads to the second-story floor, one finds, lining the walls, wonderful old ancestral portraits, not only of inestimable value, but of great public interest.
There are several chambers in this upper story, one of which is of special note, since General Lafayette slept here during his visit to Major Stark in 1824. All the furniture in this room, including the high four-poster, is the same that furnished the room when visited by the distinguished guest. It has been left unchanged, and is held to-day in great reverence by the survivors of the Stark family.
The house has always been in the family since its erection and was occupied by Charlotte Stark previous to its coming into the possession of the present owners. Miss Charlotte was one of Major Stark's favorite daughters.
This house, more than most colonial houses, is of abounding interest. Everywhere within its four walls are treasures which could not be found elsewhere. It was the home of the brave Indian fighter, John Stark, the friend of Washington, and later on of Major Caleb Stark, the friend of Lafayette, who retired at the close of the Revolution, at the age of twenty-four. Few, if any colonial mansions are filled with such veritable treasures,—and there are still fewer houses where from five distinguished families have been gathered relics of such extraordinary interest, as in this home of long ago.