"The date of the erection of this house is not known; but Tobias Lear was born here in 1760. He was Washington’s private secretary for 16 years, until the President’s death. In 1789 Washington visited this house, which was then occupied by Mrs. Lear, the stepmother of the secretary, and by Samuel Storer, whose wife was his sister and mother of the late Admiral Storer. The room where the distinguished guest was received has never been altered."

Excerpted from The Portsmouth Guide Book, 1896, by Sarah Haven Foster.

Inscription reads, "Lear House, Hunking Street about 1740."