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In 1760, craftsmen under the
direction of master joiner Michael Whidden III offloaded the
frame of the house from a vessel docked at Moffatt's wharf, and
raised and finished the frame. In his bill for services,
Whidden III notes "Bringing ye frame from ye warf on ye Spot to
Raise finding all ye Men finding all ye Vittles And all ye Drink
of Every Kind at my own Expence at my house." Between 1760 and
1763 Whidden and nine apprentices, two journeymen, and other
related craftsmen put in total of 3,272 working days on "your
house fences & garding" and also erected a barn and a shop on
the site. Other bills document the
exquisite details throughout the house to Portsmouth carver
Ebenezer Dearing. Architectural historians have attributed the
distinctive balusters of the main staircase to turner Richard
Mills (1730-1800) on the basis of similar balusters in Mills’s
own home in Portsmouth.
The Counting House that
overlooks the family wharves on the Piscataqua River was built
about 1832. 
The Coach House, comprised of an original warehouse and shop to
which a carriage bay was added, dates from the late eighteenth
century.
Furnishings of the Moffatt-Ladd House
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Original
furnishing adorn many of the rooms of the house and
generous descendants, community members, and NSCDA
members continue to add to the museum's
collection. Highlights include striking examples
of Portsmouth-made furniture including this settee made
about 1810 and seven
pieces from an outstanding set of London-made Chinese
Chippendale furniture..
Portraits of more than thirteen family members hang
throughout the mansion, including this portrait of
Nathaniel A. Haven by Gilbert Stuart.
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