The house now known as Rider-Wood House was built about 1780 by Samuel Jackson, a tanner. It is typical of the simple four-room dwellings that were built in Portsmouth in the latter part of the eighteenth century, many of which still stand. And like many of the others, though plain, there is obvious evidence of attention paid to refined details. The stairway is embellished with a fine turned newel post and beautiful scrolled brackets; the west fireplace displays an ogee-ended frieze and a denticulated mantel shelf.

Although ravaged by the elements and by the wear of ten generations, the original eight-panel front door is still sound. Above the door is a four-light transom, topped by a triangular pediment supported by simple pilasters. Such details clearly show that middle-class tradesmen like Samuel Jackson, though not wealthy, took pride in their homes and had a definite sense of style. These elements are noticeably missing from houses built for tenant occupancy in the nineteenth century.

Rider-Wood House was purchased by John Rider in 1809. The two sheds to the west and south were added by John and Mary Rider. Rider was a trader and the addition to the west possibly served as a shop. When widow Mary Rider died in 1861, at the age of 92, she left a large portion of her estate to St. John's Church in Portsmouth for the care of the poor and the support of foreign missions. She also left property to many relatives and friends in her native England and among her neighbors at Puddle Dock. The house that she lived in for over fifty years went to her nephew James Wood.

Archaeological excavation at the site is providing detailed information about the Riders, Woods, and other families who have lived here. They have also revealed that George Walton operated a tannery here prior to the 1770s.

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