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The Seavey Ward House
Oldest house in the village area
This house is located across Rte 302 from the Village School Recreation field.
An Update to this Story: MAY - 2026
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Donna and Ruth Ward inherited this property from their father, Everett Ward, in 1973. From the 1950's until 1979 the Town of Bartlett operated the town dump on the northern section of the land adjacent to the Saco River. That usage has come back to bite both the Town and current owners with environmental concerns. The Conway Sun article below summarizes what's happening:
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BY DAYMOND STEER
THE CONWAY DAILY SUN - May 2026
BARTLETT — The Carroll County Superior Court recently agreed to extend the pause of a case that was filed by a local family suing the town of Bartlett for $2.5 million.
The case regards claims the town failed to address a former dump on private land that is eroding into the Saco River because the state of New Hampshire may come up with the money to fix the site. from fines it imposed on another landfill.
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During the winter, attorneys from the Iovino family and the town asked the Carroll County Superior Court to revisit the case in six months. Judge Mark Attorri signed off on the agreement Jan. 30.
The court was to hold a status conference on May 7, but attorneys from both sides asked for more time.
“Since the status conference on Jan. 29, 2026, there have been no substantive or material developments regarding progress on the Supplemental Environmental Project with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services,” state the attorneys in a motion to reschedule the status conference. “Counsel for the plaintiff and counsel for the defendants hereby assent to the requested continuance and to the rescheduling of the status conference.”
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On May 6, Clerk of Court Abigail Albee sent a notice of decision that the status conference would be postponed. It is now scheduled for July 2.
The entrance to the old Bartlett dump is off Route 302 across from Bart’s Deli.
The suit comes from a family that has owned the land for generations. “James Iovino, Trustee of the James W. and Donna M. Iovino Trust vs the Town of Bartlett” was filed in Superior Court on Oct. 15, 2024.
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“The town’s evasions and failures to abide by its promises and agreements were wanton, malicious, oppressive, recklessly indifferent and in disregard of the consequences to the plaintiff, motivated by ill-will and bad motive, and fundamentally an abuse of municipal power against a private citizen,” states the lawsuit filed by Jeremy Eggleton of Orr & Reno of Concord.
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Then, on Jan. 13, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced that North Country Environmental Services Inc., owner and operator of the NCES Landfill in Bethlehem, entered into an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Services to pay $1.9 million in civil penalties.
“The settlement allows NCES to seek limited credit toward a portion of that penalty if it completes state-ap
proved supplemental environmental projects (SEPs),” the state DOJ Environmental Protection Bureau told the Sun.
“In this case, there are two potential SEPs: up to $219,000 for an engineering study of a former municipal landfill in Bartlett that is eroding into the Saco River, and a second, separate project for possible remediation, the scope and cost of which have not yet been determined and may not proceed.
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“The study is already underway; any remediation decision will be made after the study is complete,” it said, adding, “SEPs are selected based on existing environmental needs and are generally used where there is no practical or funded path to address a problem.
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“In Bartlett, the former landfill presents a long-term, worsening environmental issue, with no viable funding source to address it. Bartlett does not receive any money through the settlement; the work consists only of study and, potentially, remediation of the site,” the bureau said.
The case had been stayed after the death of James Iovino at age 85 in January 2025. Donna Iovino, who inherited the property from her father, the late Everett Ward, in 1976, died in 2023. Her sons, Brett and Todd Tetley, will now serve as trustees of the trust as well as plaintiffs in the court case.
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In the 1940s or ’50s, Ward agreed to let the town use his property as a dump and charged the town rent.
After his death in 1973, the dump continued to operate through 1979, though Donna Iovino and her then-husband, Vernon Tetley, wanted to see it closed sooner.
“The town refuses to purchase the property, obtain financing for cleanup or otherwise do anything at all about the dump it operated for 35+ years,” the suit states.
“The estimated total cleanup costs as of 2023 exceeded $2.5 million. The banks of the Saco continue to erode.”
This article researched, compiled and offered to the Bartlett Historical Society by Ruth Ward Abbott.
In 1994, the New Hampshire Division of Historical Inventory identified the Ward house as the only farm house from the early 1800 period of development which remains extant in the present village center. This homestead was declared the best preserved cape from this early period.
The 3x5 bay, federal style center entry cape has a broad gable roof and center chimney. The windows are set close under the eaves. In the late 1800’s dormers were added over the long wing which historically contained carriage sheds and connected to the barn.
Houses built in the early 1800’s had special characteristics such as external door hinges and latches. Sashes, framing and paneling were done with rough timber and wooden pegs. Cellar walls and foundations were of granite slabs. The Ward house of today exhibits all these characteristics.
In 1820, Samuel Seavey and his son John moved from Deerfield, NH to Bartlett. They built a log cabin in the area which later became known as the Smith/Greenwood properties and began clearing the land. John and his wife, Polly B. Seavey lived in the cabin while the house and barn were under construction.
In April, 1833 a daughter, Mary Frances was born. A second daughter, Susan Polly was born in August, 1835. The house was completed in 1837 and the Seavey family moved in.
In 1850, Mary Frances married Nathan Howe French and they lived in the Seavey homestead while building their home across the street. Susan Polly married in 1865 to Amos Stanton. He was killed in the war.
In 1875, Susan married Humphrey P. Richards and they lived in the Seavey homestead. Addie M. Foss, niece of Richards, married Fred J. Ward and in 1907, they inherited the house from Susan P. Richards.
Fred and Addie Ward had five children; Alice, Marion, Irving, Everett and Merton. In 1931, Fred and Addie willed the house and properties to Everett in exchange for their “good being and all financial responsibilities”. In 1932 Everett (1910-1972) married Dorothy Dell Coleman (1915-2007) of Jackson, NH. They had two daughters, Ruth Sandra (1936) and Donna Mae (1942).
For several years Dorothy operated a small business on the property specializing in balsam pillows and maple syrup products. Today, (Oct 2019) Donna Ward Iovino and her husband James reside in the oldest home in Bartlett village, the fifth generation to do so.
Another Contender
Contributed by Roger Marcoux.
Although not a home per se, the oldest building in the village is the former jail on Albany Avenue, which was also Johnny Marcou's shop. He lived in it too, part of the time in the late 50's. Here is a photo of it back then, (looks the same now, but it is painted white) with my grandfather and grandmother Marcou and their dog posed in front of it. Sorry, I did not find a picture of the actual jail building but it's behind the Village fire house on Albany Avenue.
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That building behind it (shown above) which no longer exists, was his sawmill and he had some really scary saws in it as I recollect. Prior to this being the oldest, there was a small building next to the Chippanock Inn, across from today's Post Office on Main Street that held the honor, but it was torn down a few years ago.
Johnny Marcou, in 1894, made his way down from Canada, and lived in Carroll NH. In 1901 Johnny's future wife made her way down from Canada from the same area, but they never met until Johnny, driving a stage coach, stopped at the Inn in Twin Mt where she worked. They got married had some kids, and eventually they moved to Livermore, had another kid, lived there for some time before finally moving to Bartlett, and having more kids.
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