NEWS
AND NOTES 2007
ASSOCIATION
HOLDS 1st CHRISTMAS SOCIAL
The
Epsom Historical Association met at the
Epsom Public Library on Sunday afternoon,
December 9th for a Christmas Social. The
event was planned by Carole Brown and Glenna
Nutter and was attended by about 30 people.
The refreshments were enjoyed amongst many
friends while music played and gathered
to light the indoor Library Christmas tree.
INDIANS
OF NEW ENGLAND
OCTOBER
MEETING TOPIC
Tim
Patterson of Pittsfield presented a most
informative program on Indians of New England.
Starting with where various Indians were
located throughout New England about 1660,
the talk eventually narrowed the focus to
how Epsom was directly effected by King
Philip's and the French and Indian Wars.
The talk was supplemented with a power-point
presentation and Indian artifacts were displayed.
A question and answer period followed the
talk.
Prior
to the program, a nominating committee was
selected and refreshments followed the presentation.
[see
additional photos]
A
TWO FOR ONE ROOM
SCHOOLHOUSE
PROGRAM
The
September meeting of the Epsom Historical
Association was a unique two for one program
on the early history of Epsom schools. The
meeting began with an update on the progress
at the old library, and was followed by
a program outlining the schools of early
Epsom; from its first school at the center,
through the loose districting, to the 1808
establishment of the first six districts
and finally to the 10 school districts in
use by the time of the Civil War. Refreshments
were served during the meeting and Phil
Yeaton had a display of early school textbooks.
The
meeting was held at the old Short Falls
school, built in 1853, and currently in
use by the American Legion. Following the
program, members car pooled up for a unique
opportunity to view the interior of the
Mountain District school, also known as
the 'little red schoolhouse.' Special arrangements
had been made through the owner for a close
look at the school that was in operation
from 1834 to 1920. According to information
provided each member, the Mountain District
school and the Short Falls District school
are the two oldest still standing one room
schools in the town of Epsom. [click
for pictures of the interiors
& meeting]
OLD
MEETING HOUSE READIED FOR PLACEMENT
(August
18) The historic old meetinghouse, which
was moved from its location the end of Februrary,
is being readied for placement on its new
foundation. The footings for the foundation
have been laid and the structure will be
moved over it and raised for the pouring
of the full cellar foundation. Once the
foundation is poured and hardened, the structure
can be lowered into place and finish work
can begin. The Friends of the Historic Meetinghouse
continues to oversee the work and the Historical
Association serves as fiscal agent for the
project. (click photos
for larger view)
The
meetinghouse has been moved into place and
raised to allow the foundation to be added
below it. Once the foundation sets, the
building can be lowered onto its new home.
Old
Home Day Aug. 11, 2007
The
Epsom Historical Association had a few DVD's
available for purchase at this year's Old
Home Day, courtesy of the Friends of the
Historic Meetinghouse and Dick Frambach.
Pictured is the booth for the committee
with Bruce Graham, and a photo of the new
band stand which was built as an Eagle Scout
Project and dedicated.
Annual
Ice Cream Social 2007
The
Epsom Historical Association held its annual
Ice Cream Social at the home of Barbaraand
Harvey Harkness Sunday afternoon July 15th.
Forced inside due to a long ling of persistent
thunder showers, the nearly 30 attendees
made the most of the ice cream and other
delightful deserts. The meeting included
a brief history of the Levi Cass family
which resided on the property from about
1776. Charlie and Phil Yeaton presented
nearly 40 items of historic interest which
the participants tried to guess. Brief updates
on the Meetinghouse project and the Epsom
Public Library Historical Center were also
given as part of the meeting. The rest of
the afternoon was passed with discussions
and social relaxation. A huge thanks to
Harvey and Barbara for hosting this years
event.
NEW
HAMPSHIRE PRESERVATION ALLIANCE PRESENTS
AWARD
Friends
of Epsom's Historic Meetinghouse for outstanding
preservation advocacy
Photo:
Left to right: Harvey Harkness, Sharon Burnston,
Glenna Nutter, Richard Frambach, Penny Graham
and Bruce Graham. (From the NHPA
Website) "Saving
the Epsom Meetinghouse from demolition was
a major victory for a small group of Epsom
residents who turned the tide of public
sentiment at the eleventh hour. Led by Richard
Frambach, the committee had a huge challenge--to
convince the owner, Cumberland Farms, to
delay demolition, to get a vote of the townspeople
to accept the building for new town offices,
and to raise $90,000 and handle all logistics
of the building's move. This meetinghouse
was built as the Freewill Baptist church
in 1861, on what was then the First New
Hampshire Turnpike, and is today a heavily
traveled section of U.S. Route 4. The imposing
building was designed with Greek Revival,
Italianate and Renaissance Revival elements.
In February, 2007, the town voted to accept
the gift of the church. The Friends had
met all the conditions--advocacy, fundraising,
and the arrangements for the move. At 5
a.m. on February 25, just days before Cumberland
Farms' demolition date of March 1, Route
4 was closed to traffic, utility lines were
dropped, and the 120-ton, 42-foot-wide building
rolled along the 45-foot-wide roadway to
a new home."
May
Historical Association Meeting
The
meeting of the Epsom Historical Association
on Sunday afternoon May 20, at the old Epsom
Town Hall started at 2:00 pm. Our guest
Virginia Gerseny, who was to present a program
as Jane Appleton Pierce, wife of the only
President from New Hampshire, did not appear.
As no program was presented, a discussion
of future plans for the Historical Association
were discussed. Dick Todd discussed a project
to catalog all the Epsom veterans and monuments.
Discussion also revolved around the future
of the old Epsom Baptist Church. Doug Osborne
updated the gathering on the state of the
Gossville Cemetery Association. Refreshments
were served.
NEW
PHOTO COLLECTION
AND ITEMS LOANED
Through
the generosity and courtesy of John and
Ruth Brown, many new photographs and items
were loaned to the Epsom Historical Association
be to scanned and added to the digital archives.
Among the photos were portraits of the Burnham
family, included Alphonse Burnham, Jeremiah
Gordon Burnham, James McCutcheon Burnham,
Sarah Worth Burnham, Mary Jane Wells Burnham,
Maude and Doris Burnham, plus the George
Pike and Bowen families. The items loaned
also include much of the genealogy of the
Burnham family compiled by Doris Burnham
Stevens; an autograph book of Celia Mason
Brown, and the marriage certificate of William
C. Burnham and Hattie A. Pike. The papers
were photocopied for the Historical Association
files, and the photos and other items were
scanned for the digital archives. The photo
collection will be added to the Epsom Early
Settlers web site. Above a glass photo of
Mary Jane Wells (1837-1895) daughter of
Theophilus Wells and Lucy M. Critchett.
She married in 1856, James McCutcheon Burnham.
Our thanks to Ruth and John for loaning
these items for preservation. [view
the photos]
NEW
COMPUTER PURCHASED BY
HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION
The
Epsom Historical Association, through generous
donations and sales of recent DVD's, has
purchased a new computer, monitor and two
printers. The Dell Dimension E521 sports
Microsoft's new Vista operating system with
the power to match. The computer has been
loaded with the photos and those archives
which have been scanned to date. The 20"
digital monitor will provide members of
the Association with a large screen for
viewing photos. The two printers include
a laser printer for normal printing, and
an all-in-one printer for printing of photos,
scanning and photocopying. The acquisition
of a computer system will allow the Historical
Association to begin to inventory its holdings,
and allow for additional photos and materials
to be loaned to the Association for addition
to its archives in preserving Epsom History.
In
order to begin the work, there are software
programs and supplies (such as paper and
ink) that need to be purchased. Contributions
to the computer fund will be sought in order
to put the system into operation and procure
the items needed to inventory and archive
items for preservation. The new system will
eventually be housed at the Epsom Public
Library's Historical Center in the Historical
Associations Library and Museum. The collection
and system will eventually be available
for use by members and researchers.
HOW'D
THEY DO THAT? The Moving of the Meetinghouse
Large
Number attend first meeting of the year
(March
25, 2007) The Epsom Historical Association
presented a program on the moving of the
former Epsom Free Will Baptist Church. Penny
Graham headed the program which included
powerpoint presentation with a brief history
of the building and how the committee worked.
Following were video and pictures of the
moving of the church which was followed
by a discussion of possible uses for the
building in the future - including the immediate
need to get the structure on a foundation.
Forty four people attended becoming one
of the largest attended meetings of the
Historical Association. Refreshments followed.
In
conjunction with the program the Epsom Historical
Association made available a second DVD
'The Moving of the Meetinghouse'.
Running just over half an hour, the DVD
includes 20 minutes of video showing the
meetinghouse coming down Route 4, around
the town hall, and being set in place. The
ringing of the bell is also included. This
is followed by a slide show of pictures
of the move, and ends with bonus video of
the interior of the church before it was
moved. For those who did not view the move,
or wish to have an historical record of
that historic day in February 2007, arrangements
to purchase the DVD can be made by contacting
the Historical Association. Cost is only
$15.00. [email
us to reserve and make arrangements to buy
a copy]
ARTICLES
PUBLISHED
(March
2007) Two articles that appeared in tha
last year in the Epsom Historical Association
Newsletters have been printed in the latest
(October 2006) edition of the 'New Hampshire
Genealogical Record' of the New Hampshire
Society of Genealogists, released March
2007. The first article "Mercy Blake,
wife of Samuel Bickford of Epsom, New Hampshire"
appeared in the September 2006 newsletter
as 'Bickford Family Genealogy Error Discovered.'
The second article appears as "Anna
and Hannah, daughters of Moses Locke of
Kensington, New Hampshire." This article
originally appeared in the EHA newsletter
of January 2007 as 'Moses Locke and Family.'
The articles were reduced and format changed
to fit those appearing in the Genealogical
Record with assistance from Melinde Lutz
Sanborn. The New Hampshire Genealogical
Record is sent to members of the New Hampshire
Society of Genealogists and is available
at the NH State Library and New Hampshire
Historical Society in Concord. [view
cover enlarged]
TWO
PHOTOS DONATED
(March
2007) The Deefield Historical Association
has forwarded two photos from their collection
to the Epsom Historical Association. As
the Deerfield Society goes through their
collection, they have for the second time
found some old photographs of Epsom residents.
Joanne Wasson graciously mailed them to
us. The first is a small photograph, labeled
on the back as "Anson Cass' mother,
Alida Cass, Alice Viele, Inis Cass, Robert
Cass." The Robert Cass pictured is
Robert H. Cass with his mother, Inez (Ring)
Cass, Alida Jennie Cass, young Robert's
aunt; a family friend, Alice Viele, and
Mrs. Anson (Carrie Straw) Cass, Robert's
grandmother.
The
second is labeled "Burt & Lottie
Young (Mabel's parents)." It shows
the couple in an old car, with Lottie at
the wheel. Burt Young moved to Epsom and
was a co-owner of the Silver & Young
store, later the Gossville Store. His was
was Lottie Dempsey of Canada. Their children
were Mable Bartlett, Laura Bickford, Lester
who died young, and Hazel Yeaton. The two
photos have been added to Scrapbook IX,
scanned, and added to our archives. Our
thanks to the Deerfield Historical Association
for thinking of us. [view
photos]
The
Deerfield Historical Association added to
our collection with 9 slides. They have
been printed out and added to Scrapbook
No. 9 and include a picture of George and
Madeline Knowles along with two pictures
of their house on Center Hill. In addition
there were slides of the Epsom Fire Departments
20th Anniversary Celebration held in 1953
at the farm of Ralph Towle in New Rye. Our
9th scrapbook also has several new photos
added form our collection which include
2 pictures of students at the Short Falls
School circa 1907, and a photo of the cast
of a Minstrel Show at Odd Fellows Hall.
[scrapbook
9 index]
HISTORICAL
ASSOCIATION OFFERS SPECIAL
HISTORIC PHOTOS DVD
The
Epsom Historical Association is pleased
to offer the EPSOM HISTORIC PHOTOS SLIDESHOW
DVD. The DVD is a slide show of 350 old
photos and postcards from the Associations
archived pictures. There are 15 chapters,
and included are the Short Falls Covered
Bridge, the McClary House, Trains and Depots,
One Room Schools, the Old Parsonage, Early
Stores, Lodgings, Churches, the Old Tavern,
Industry, the Old Library, Business, Transportation
and Road Making. These old photos and cards
sell for between 5 and 10 dollars each -
but you can have them in a DVD show for
$35.00.
To reserve your copy, email the Epsom Historical
Association at Epsomhistory@aol.com.
Cash or checks to the Epsom Historical Association.
News
& Notes 2013
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