A Historic Look at New Ipswich, NH

  Some Background I received a nice phone call from Sylvia Kaarto (Her husband owned New Ipswich Market). She mentioned that she had a document about the history of New Ipswich and wished to donate it to the New Ipswich Historical Society. It was three typed pages but undated and unsigned. I suspect that it might have been written in 1970 because of a reference to a census number. I decided to transcribe the contents from the document which will make it searchable and hopefully easier to read. Here is the text from page one. A Brief History - Page 1   Very soon after the first colonists of New England arrived, settlers penetrated far up the beautiful valleys of the Connecticut and the Merrimac. However, a large tract of country, much nearer the seaboard, which included the present town of New Ipswich, remained unoccupied. This may have been due to the mountains and hills which surround the valley. History tells us that in the summer of 1738, Abijah Foster, then thirty years of age, his

 The Veterans Willow The Veterans Willow was located at the Barr Estate on Main Street across the street from the current New Ipswich Historical Society. It was listed as the largest Willow tree in New Hampshire and possibly in  New England. Seating was built in the lower branches which could accommodate 40 people. Mrs. Barr had musicians sit in the tree to perform at her garden parties. The photo below gives an idea of how large the leaf canopy was on this enormous tree. Willow Arches The Veterans Willow was not the only notable tree in town. The Children's Oak on Manley Road is mentioned as an attraction. Sadly that was cut down and at some point Carl Toko and I need to find some remnants. We do have photos of the Willow Arches which graced River Road at one time. This might be an older view of the Arches. Wouldn't it be nice to see this again? Birches One of the undated glass negatives had the caption "Birches". No indication of where it was taken. It is doubtful 

 Where was this taken? Among the glass negatives in the collection of the New Ipswich,NH Historical society is this photo of a rural church. Written on the protective sleeve the caption "Finnish Church" was written. At first I thought it might be taken in Finland, but since all the other plates were taken in either New Ipswich or Greenville, I suspect this was local. Is it a church or a home? This is another glass negative photo that eludes me. The nearby building on the left appears to be a church but lacks a cross on the cupola, Without trees it is so difficult to determine where this might have been taken. If you have any ideas, pleas leave a comment.

 The Dedication The New Ipswich Historical Society has a photo of a group of people gathered around a large rock with an engraved plaque. The people in the photo are  {L-R) Reverend John E. Bowman, Anna B. McLaughlin, Mrs. John Barnet, Mary A. Thayer, Abbie L.Phelps, Sylvia Taylor (Dunfee), Doctor F.W. Jones, Henry Wilson, Reverend George J. Prescott, Lena B. Preston, Charles S. Brown, Katherine Preston, Mabel Jones, Frances Jones Burton Steven Farrar Ministry (1759 - 1809) The plaque marks the location of the two churches that were part of Stephen Farrar's ministry. The dedication photo was undated. I was curious where the plaque was located and if it was still in place. I learned that it was located near the Old Burying Ground on Porter Hill Road. I wandered around for some time unable to find it. I needed some expert help. Carl Toko I knew just the person to contact, Carl Toko. Carl poked around a bit an found the stone just to the right of the parking area near the Old Burying

Where was this located? The New Ipswich Historical Society has two wooden boxes of early glass negatives taken in the early twentieth century. Most of the images on the plates are of homes and street views that are still recognizable. Most of those images were reproduced as postcards for the tourist trade. However these photos were taken in the interior of what might have been a mill or power station. The machinery is quite impressive. Imagine flipping the switch (located on top) of this device. I believe the lever below the coils  probably moves the brushes from a start to running state, Heavy Equipment Imagine what it must have been to see this machine in operation. Notice the glass oil reservoirs and the the two ball governor.  Another View This is another view of this room with another machine About this Blog I've been blogging about the history of New Ipswich for some time, sharing photos and other tidbits about our wonderful town. This newly formed blog marks a departure of s