Langley+House

=The Judge Langley House= Durham, NH

Langley House, circa 1913 from __History of the Town of Durham New Hampshire__

Langley House, 2007, Yvette Couser

The "Langley House" was built circa 1885, according to 2006 Durham Tax Records. It is located on Durham Point Road. Honorable Jeremiah Langley was born in [|Durham, NH]on March 25, 1841. He was educated in the public school and at the age of fifteen had learned the trade of a shoemaker. He also learned to manage a farm and raise hay. In 1890 Langley and his sons bought a line of barges for transporting coal from Portsmouth to Dover, Exeter, Newmarket and Durham.

Langley served his town in varied offices, as moderator, selectman, State Representative and Senator. While in the New Hampshire legislature he did much toward securing the removal of the agricultural college from Hanover to Durham; now known as the University of New Hampshire. As Senator he served on the committees on railroads, agriculture, incorporations, elections and soldiers' home. He was president of the Republican Club of Durham and a recognized leader in that party, served with The Grange and the public library, as well as director of the Newmarket Bank. He was a Mason and an Odd Fellow. ¹

According to the house's current owner, Stephen Reyna, in the years following the Judge's residence, the house had at one time been renovated to serve as the Mathes Cove Inn, frequented by tourists visiting from New York and Massachussettes. The barn, though in need of major renovations, still stands on the property and was built in the 1700's. Prior to Judge Langley's residence here, the barn was a storage for gondolas and other boats brought in from the Bay, with the current driveway serving as the main road into Durham.

According to the __History of the Town of Durham New Hampshire__, the property is the site of graves of early settlers, the Bickfords.

Langley House, front view from Durham Point Road. Note the 18th century barn at the right.

1. From: __History of the Town of Durham New Hampshire__, by Everett S. Stackpole, Lucien Thompson, and Winthrop S. Meserve. Published for the Durham Historic Association by Peter E. Randall Publisher, Portsmouth, reprinted 1994. p. 319.

//**Primary author of this page: Yvette Couser**//