Mark Wentworth Home History

A Revolutionary History

A prominent piece of Portsmouth's history, the Mark Wentworth Home's Pleasant Street mansion was believed to have been built in 1763. The Residence was the home of Governor John Wentworth, the last Royal Governor, who lived there until just before the start of the Revolution. Governor Wentworth described the home as a "a small hut with little comfortable apartments." This "small hut" is now registered on the National Register of Historic Places and is considered to be one of the finest architecturally built homes in the region, during the eighteenth century.

Although he was a Portsmouth native and generally well liked, the loyalist Governor Wentworth often ignited fierce opposition. Portsmouth was the site of many Revolutionary War incidents, and on one particularly explosive occasion in the summer of 1775, a mob of patriots gathered outside the mansion and demanded the surrender of Governor Wentworth's associate, Colonel John Fenton. Before Fenton gave himself up, shots were fired and the evidence remains to this day with bullet holes in the plaster above the fireplace of the mansion's front room.

A Home for "Chronic Invalids"

Over one hundred years after the revolution a relative of the governor, Susan Wentworth, acquired the mansion and founded the Mark H. Wentworth Home for Chronic Invalids, naming it after Mark Hunkings Wentworth, the Home's original owner. In 1911, when the corporation was established the Home provided a charming place for the seacoast's residents to receive nursing care and was open to elderly and children who suffered from incurable diseases - those who could afford to pay were asked a reasonable fee. In the 1920s, a slate-roofed brick building, with a charm of its own, was added to the historic home to accommodate a growing population. The largest building, the Wentworth Wing, was built in the 1980s, a little after the Mark H. Wentworth Home was established as a not-for-profit healthcare organization. The entire property was completely renovated in 2007-2008 when the whole Home was remodeled into Assisted Living suites and an upgraded Nursing Unit.

Modern Amenities and an In-town Location

Today, the 48 modern suites and 11 rooms on the property's secure floor provide the best senior living that Portsmouth has to offer. The location is unmatched, with a view of the South Mill Pond on one side, and a Pleasant Street address on the other, the opportunity to take advantage of culture and history presents itself at every turn. The Mark Wentworth Home's Board of Trustees is proud to be able to continue to provide the highest level of senior services, and strives to do so well into the next 100 years.