We’re so excited to feature our friend, Teddy, who sent us pictures from his visit to a historic house museum in our beloved New England. (Read more about Teddy below!)

The 1721-built Ladd-Gilman house in Exeter, New Hampshire, now houses the American Independence Museum.

Nathaniel Ladd built the house — one of the first brick houses in the state — but it was later clapboarded.

In 1747, merchant Daniel Gilman bought the home, which served as the state treasury during the American Revolutionary War when two Gilman family members served as treasurers of the state. Nicholas Gilman Jr., who went on to be a signer on the U.S. Constitution and a U.S. Senator representing New Hampshire, was born in this house.

The museum campus is an acre and hosts both this house and the Folsom Tavern (1775). According to signage on the property, “A Dunlap Broadside of the Declaration of Independence was found in the attic of the Ladd-Gilman house in 1985, making it, at the time, the 23rd known issue of the first printing of that document. As a result of this discovery, the American Independence Museum was founded in 1991 to display this rare document to the public while teaching about our nation’s founding principles.”

The Ladd-Gilman house is a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A native of Alabama, Teddy is a nine-year-old rescue currently living in NH. As a puppy, Teddy was hit by a car, suffering a spinal cord injury. He fully recovered for five years, but got his wheels about three years ago when he lost feeling in his back legs. But he’s not in pain, and lives a full, happy life with his family.