Parsons Homestead

The Parsons Homestead stands in the village center of Rye, on the southeast side of Washington Road, nearly opposite its junction with Lang Road. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a side-gable roof and clapboarded exterior. It has two interior brick chimneys, and a five-bay front facade. The central bay is a two-story gabled projection, a distinctive local variant of the Federal style that is now seen in only a few surviving examples. The main entrance is at the base of the projection, flanked by sidelight windows and topped by a half-round transom. Sash windows are placed in the other bays, framed by molded surrounds.^[2]

The construction date of this house is traditionally given as 1757, but there is no significant architectural evidence supporting a construction date before about 1800. Portions of the house (a stairway and some posts) appear to have been recycled from an older house. The interior woodwork is among the finest of the period in Rye. The builder of the house is not known.^[2]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire