Did You Know the House That Inspired the Board Game ‘Clue’ Is in NH?
New Hampshire has all kinds of hidden treasures and new discoveries. I've been doing a lot of weekend drives, because let's face it, there hasn't been much else to do!
One discovery that I was really intrigued by was that the house that inspired the board game "Clue" is right here in Peterborough, NH! George Parker, founder of Parker Brothers, actually lived in the 2 story Dutch-Colonial when he came up with the idea for the murder-mystery board game.
According to NH Home Magazine, the house is 5,900 square feet and features woodwork that Parker got from an old sea-captain's house in Salem,MA. There are all sorts of beautiful features including a gorgeous 1769 carved wooden staircase, made by Salem’s Samuel McIntire, a renowned master carpenter.
My favorite part? A hidden passageway. When we were little, we owned a house that had a hidden staircase behind a book case and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My parents got a little tired of it when they could never find us hiding in the secret room at the top of the stairs!
The Clue house doesn't have a secret room, but there are secret passageways, according to NH Home Magazine. They are under the floor and are big enough for an adult to pass through!
The current owner, Jim Walsh, was able to talk to the house's former caretaker, according to the Ledger Transcript. The caretaker said that the rooms in Clue, which was created when George Parker lived in the house, were in a way based on the rooms of the house.
Walsh tells Ledger Transcript:
“It’s so obvious when you look at the board It’s not exactly the same, but when you live here you can see the similarities.”
Peterborough realtor Andy Peterson tells NH Home Magazine:
“Anywhere in the world, if you mention Monopoly and Clue, and the Parker Brothers, people know what you were talking about. This house ennobles Peterborough.”