This 18th-century mansion is especially significant to Americans who are interested in colonial and Revolutionary War history. It stands on property that was owned in the 17th century by William Sayle, who left Bermuda to found South Carolina and become its first governor. The house was built before 1710 by John Dickinson, a prosperous shipowner who was also speaker of the House of Assembly in Bermuda from 1707 to 1710. Verdmont passed to Mr. Dickinson's granddaughter, Elizabeth, who married the Hon. Thomas Smith, collector of customs. Their oldest daughter, Mary, married Judge John Green, a Loyalist who came to Bermuda in 1765 from Philadelphia. During and after the American Revolution, Green was judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court and had the final say on prizes brought in by privateers. Many American shipowners lost their vessels because of his decisions. The house, which the National Trust now administers, contains many antiques, china, and portraits, along with the finest cedar stair balustrade on Bermuda.