[1] The Purnell House is located just north of the village center of Goshen, on the west side of NH 10, about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) south of the Newport line.

It is framed with three-inch vertical planking, and its main block is five bays wide and two deep.

Its entrance set at the center of the front facade, is topped by a four-light transom window.

A two-story ell extends behind the main block to the north, connecting it to a carriage barn.

One of its early owners was Daniel Emerson, the toll collector on the Croydon Turnpike (now NH 10).