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Real Estate
After surviving the Titanic, Richard Beckwith sought peace and quiet. He found it by constructing 58 Wiggin Farm Road on Squam Lake, in the picturesque town of Moultonborough, N.H.
The summer property is listed for $9,500,000.
Beckwith, his wife, and teenage daughter were passengers on the Titanic, but made it into the lifeboats. Some claim their story was potentially a source of inspiration for the famed 1997 film “Titanic.” Legend has it that the family was aboard the ship in an attempt to get the teen away from a potential boyfriend, The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story on the listing, reported. Ultimately, the boyfriend found himself on the lifeboat as well, and the parents had a change of heart.
“Some newspaper accounts, filed just after the survivors reached New York, claimed that Behr had proposed to Helen while they were still in their lifeboat,” the Journal wrote, adding that the couple later married with the Beckwith parents’ blessing.
These days, the eight-bed, 3.5-bath property, which was built in 1899, is a shingled home on the market for the first time in more than a century. Set on just under 4 acres and boasting 964 feet of shorefront, the home measures 5,605 square feet.
A long drive through the woods leads to the luxury property, which welcomes guests up a few steps onto the wraparound porch, which has screened-in sections. The entrance leads into a welcoming living room, home to a three-sided white brick fireplace under beautiful wooden beams.
But it’s the view that strikes you upon entrance.
“When you walk into the house, you’re just immediately drawn to the views of the lake,” said Joe Dussault of Dussault Real Estate, who is the co-listing agent with Jacalyn Dussault. “These long lake views [see] across to the Squam Range. And if the sun were going down, you would have views of beautiful sunrises and sunsets.”
Wood floors run throughout the home, which features many original elements, including the door handles and windows. The dining room also has a share of the three-sided fireplace in the corner. From there, a walk-through pantry leads into the kitchen, which blends original rustic features with more modern white appliances. It also has a second pantry for additional storage. There’s a small parlor on the first floor with access to a half-bath, as well as Palladian doors that open to the screened-in porch.
A staircase from the living room leads to the second floor, which is home to eight bedrooms and three bathrooms, each with claw-foot tubs. The primary suite boasts stunning views of the outdoors on three sides. All of the bedrooms have beadboard walls and ceilings, which emphasize the rustic nature of the home.
A staircase leads up to the partially finished third floor, and there is a small unfinished basement.
There’s a 555-square-foot boathouse on the property with dock space on both sides, as well as a few other small structures: a former ice house, a pump house, and an old chicken coop. There’s also a two-car detached garage. A sandy swimming area and a large dock make it easy to go for a swim. The home could potentially be winterized for year-round use.
If the property gets its $9,500,000 asking price, it would be the highest ever paid for a home on Squam Lake, Dussault told the WSJ.
Jacalyn Dussault emphasized the tranquility of Squam Lake, thanks to its protection by conservation easements in comparison to other bodies of water in the region.
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The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office has concluded that Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill did nothing wrong when she used her government email to assist a law firm that was suing the state over its voter ID law.
Assistant Attorney General Brendan O’Donnell wrote that Liot Hill’s use of her state email to assist a national Democratic law firm find plaintiffs didn’t amount to “electioneering” under state law.
The state Republican party alleged in August that Liot Hill — the only Democrat on the five-member Executive Council — misused her position by involving herself in a lawsuit against the state.
From the start, Liot Hill called that claim baseless, and the Attorney General’s office said Liot Hill’s conduct didn’t warrant sanction.
“This Office cannot conclude that the e-mails constituted a misuse of position or otherwise violated the executive branch ethics code. This matter is closed,” the office wrote.
In a statement Friday, Liot Hill, from Lebanon, welcomed the conclusion of the case.
“The AG’s findings underscore the partisan nature of the ongoing attacks against me: I am being impeached not for wrong-doing, but for being a Democrat,” she said.
The lawsuit challenging New Hampshire’s voter ID recently failed in state court. But this issue may not yet be over: A top House Republican has filed a bill to explore Liot Hill’s impeachment next year.
As the lone Democrat on the Executive Council, Liot Hill is her party’s ranking member in the State House. That profile has made Liot Hill, who spent two decades in local politics before winning election to the council last year, a regular target for Republicans, who argue that her approach to the job, which she says honors the state’s volunteer spirit, has crossed ethical lines.
The New Hampshire Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment to the Attorney General report Friday afternoon.
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