Grant Awarded

The Historical Society has been awarded a grant by the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) to continue its restoration work on Pearson Hall.

The latest round of LCHIP grants was announced in early December and was featured in a story in the Valley News, which quotes HHS President Wayne Fortier.

Congratulations to HHS past president Edith Celley, who led the effort to prepare the grant proposal.

The Old Jail

The Valley News recently published a story about the 1845 Grafton County Jail in Haverhill Corner, now a private residence.

HHS past-president Edith Celley is quoted. The story can be found here.

Whither the Wind

Thanks to Dick Ekwall and Doug Henson, a new weathervane now graces the top of Pearson Hall, recalling as closely as possible the original fixture:

This photograph was taken by Mike Marshall on one of our recent beautiful fall days.

Saving the Mountains Program

The Historical Society will sponsor its third and final 2014 summer program on Tuesday, August 12 at 7:00 PM at Alumni Hall on Court Street in Haverhill. Marcia Schmidt Blaine of Plymouth State University will present "Saving the Mountains: New Hampshire and the Creation of the National Forests," which will address New Hampshire’s early role in the creation of the National Forests. Admission is free and open to the public.

New Hampshire’s White Mountains played a leading role in events leading to the Weeks Act, the law that created the eastern national forests. Focusing on Concord’s Joseph B. Walker and the Forest Society’s Philip Ayres, Blaine explores the relationship between our mountains and the economic, environmental and aesthetic questions posed by the individuals involved in the creation of the National Forest.

Marcia Schmidt Blaine is a historian of New Hampshire and New England history and Chair of the Department of History, Philosophy and Social Studies at Plymouth State University. While her academic work focuses on the development of American identity, eighteenth-century New Hampshire women, and Anglo captives of the Abenaki, Blaine also explores various aspects of White Mountains history through her work with the Museum of the White Mountains in Plymouth.

Connecticut River Program

On Monday, July 14, the Historical Society will sponsor “The Connecticut: New England’s Great River,” a program offered by Adair Mulligan, former Conservation Director of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions. The program will be held at 7:00 PM at Court Street Arts / Alumni Hall in Haverhill Corner, and will be free and open to the public.

The largest river in New England, the Connecticut rises in a small beaver pond near the Canadian border and flows over 400 miles through four states, falling 2,670 feet to the sea through America’s only watershed-based national fish and wildlife refuge. Adair Mulligan leads an armchair tour of this great river in New Hampshire and Vermont, exploring its history and natural beauty through the seasons and among the communities that have sprung up along its banks. Next, the discussion will shift to how the river has influenced the lives of those who live there, and how they, in turn, have affected the river. Much more than a travelogue, this presentation explores the many issues involved in managing the health of this major river, and how citizens from all walks of life have created a vision for its future.

Adair Mulligan has a runaway curiosity about the natural and cultural history of northern New England. Author of The Gunstock Parish, A History of Gilford, New Hampshire, she has also contributed to Proud to Live Here in the Connecticut River Valley; Where the Great River Rises, An Atlas of the Upper Connecticut River; and Beyond the Notches: Stories of Place in New Hampshire’s North Country. Executive director of the Hanover Conservancy, she served for 20 years as Conservation Director of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions. Mulligan holds a master’s degree from Smith College.

Program and Annual Meeting

The Historical Society has received a grant from the New Hampshire Humanities Council to present “The Abolitionists of Noyes Academy,” a program offered by Dan Billin of Lebanon, New Hampshire. This event will take place Tuesday June 17, at 7:00 PM at Court Street Arts/Alumni Hall in Haverhill. Admission is free and open to the public.

In 1835, abolitionists opened one of the nation’s first integrated schools in Canaan, New Hampshire, attracting eager African American students from as far away as Boston, Providence, and New York City. Outraged community leaders responded by raising a mob that dragged the academy building off its foundation and ran the African American students out of town.

New Hampshire’s first experiment in educational equality was brief, but it helped launch the public careers of a trio of extraordinary African American leaders: Henry Highland Garnet, Alexander Crummell, and Thomas Sipkins Sidney. Dan Billin plumbs the depths of anti-abolitionist sentiment in early-nineteenth-century New England, and the courage of three young friends destined for greatness.

Raised in the Lakes Region, Dan Billin earned a BA in Communications from Brigham Young University. He worked as a newspaper reporter for the Valley News in Lebanon, New Hampshire for seventeen years. Billin’s passion for history and nose for a story led him to uncover a wealth of detail about the shocking and largely forgotten tale of the birth and death of Noyes Academy. He is working on a book about the legacy of three of the students.

This presentation will be preceded at 6:30 PM by the Historical Society’s annual meeting.

Request for Proposals

The Haverhill Historical Society has issued a Request for Proposals, seeking a professional who can assist the Society with inventorying and cataloging its collection.

You may read the details here.

If you know of qualified individuals, please help spread the word.