Merrill House (c.1792, on the National Historic Register) looks across “Snow Valley” onto the tail end of the White Mountains in western Maine. Located in Andover, under ½ hour from Bethel and Sunday River Ski area, and surrounded by fields, forest and trails, Merrill House is immersed in natural beauty. The Appalachian Trail passes through Andover, and there are excellent X-country trails and sled runs just outside the door.

The home has been in the family for over two hundred years, since its original construction eight generations ago. The homestead was the first colonial settlement of the valley.

Ezekiel Merrill, Revolutionary War veteran, and his wife Sarah and their young children first trekked in by canoe and foot over 50 miles to spend the winter in a one-room hut that the local Pequaket Indians helped them make. They were under-provisioned and had to trade for food and furs with the native Americans, living largely on potatoes that first winter. The family survived and stayed to establish their farm.

Generations passed and the homestead grew into a working farm with barns and pastures. At the end of the 1800’s Ezekiel’s great grandson Henry Varnum Poor and his son Henry William – made wealthy by the railroads – renovated the farmhouse into the lodge we have today, and the pastures into botanical gardens, with walk-paths and many other features.

Today the Merrill House is available for rent for weddings, retreats, reunions, and seasonal parties. We hope you will enjoy its comfort, charm and its unique piece of American history as much as we do!