Three Chimneys Inn: The History of the Oldest Home in Durham.

The Three Chimney’s Inn is a small hotel in Durham, New Hampshire. The Inn is close to the downtown area of Durham, and not far from the Oyster River. A small town getaway, the Inn has been beloved by the town of Durham for many years. What many people don’t know is that the Three Chimney’s Inn has a rich history, and is almost as old as the town of Durham itself.

The Three Chimney’s Inn was originally built in 1694, making it the oldest home in Durham. According to NHES, Durham was settled in 1669 but wasn’t incorporated until 1732. The Three Chimney’s Inn didn’t start as a hotel and tavern, it was originally a family home built by an entrepreneur named Valentine Hill. Hill was a successful merchant and trader who emigrated to Boston in 1636. It didn’t take long for Hill to plant his roots in the New World as he quickly became a member of the Artillery Company, only two years after entering Boston. He was then ordained as a Deacon in the Boston Church and was later elected as a Selectman in 1641 where he served for six years.

Hill went on to marry a woman named Frances Freestone and they had five children together, including a daughter named Hannah. Jump to 1643, Hill received a land grant near the Oyster River, and later in 1649, he got permission to build a sawmill on the bank of the river. This building plan also included the one-story home that would stay in the town for the next 370 years.

Earlier I mentioned that Hill had a daughter named Hannah. Not much is known about Hannah, but she is one of the reasons the Three Chimneys Inn has such a unique history. Allegedly, Hannah drowned in the Oyster River behind the Inn. The story states that Hannah never left the Inn, and now roams the halls of her former home.

Eventually, ownership of the home was transferred from Valentine Hill to his son, Nathaniel Hill. Nathaniel went on to add a second floor to the home in 1699. Not much other change was recorded in legal documents until there was another transfer of ownership to the Woodman family in the 1700s. The Woodmans were still descendants of Valentine Hill, however, it was only through marriage.

In the 1800s, the property was purchased by a man named George Ffrost the second. He renovated the family home and turned it into what is now known as The Three Chimney’s Inn and Ffrost Tavern. Being the oldest home in the town of Durham, New Hampshire, the small Inn has a rich history of its own.

You can book a room at the Three Chimneys Inn on their website: https://www.threechimneysinn.com/rooms. You can also request to rent spaces in the Inn for weddings and other special events!

Works Cited

“durham NH - Community Profile | Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau | NH Employment Security.” New Hampshire Employment Security, https://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/durham.htm . Accessed 7 November 2022.

“ffrost Sawyer Tavern | Durham, New Hampshire 03824.” Three Chimneys Inn, https://www.threechimneysinn.com/overview.aspx?pid=38 . Accessed 7 November 2022.

Gagne, Alicia. “Hannah Hill's Home: The Oyster River Community in Durham | Sustaining Piscataqua.” Sustaining Piscataqua, 24 November 2012, https://sustainpiscataqua.wordpress.com/category/hannah-hills-home-the-oyster-river-community-in-durham/ . Accessed 7 November 2022.

Palmer, Morgan. “21 Things: Spooky incidents at Three Chimneys.” 21 Things: Spooky incidents at Durham's Three Chimneys, 14 October 2015, https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2015/10/14/21-things-spooky-incidents-at/33264797007/ . Accessed 7 November 2022.

“Valentine Hill - The Great Allotment: Pullen Point's First Land Owners.” Town Memorials | Winthrop, Massachusetts, https://winthropmemorials.org/great-allotment/pages/valentine-hill.html . Accessed 7 November 2022.