The 2013 NH Preservation Month blog can be viewed here: http://nh-preservation2013.blogspot.com

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Preservation Month has ended, but preservation efforts continue

Which historic properties in New Hampshire do you look to as outstanding examples of preservation? Which ones would you like to see preserved? What can you do to help New Hampshire’s historic buildings, villages, bridges, archaeological sites and landscapes last for future generations?

New Hampshire’s Preservation Month 2011 may be over, but there are still many preservation projects statewide that can use your help. Historic preservation promotes the use, understanding and conservation of historic sites for the education, inspiration, pleasure and enrichment of our citizens and visitors. Your input will help New Hampshire maintain its unique character.

For more information about historic preservation in New Hampshire, visit the NH Division of Historical Resources online at www.nh.gov/nhdhr or contact us at (603) 271-3483.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Monson Village Archaeological Site - Located in Milford, Hollis, Amherst, Brookline

The only New Hampshire town to forfeit its corporate existence, Monson is now an important 18th-century archaeological site marked with stone walls, cellar holes and rolling fields.   

Photo courtesy of the NH Division of Historical Resources

Monday, May 30, 2011

River Road Bridge - Located in Pittsburg

Built in 1859 in the Queen-post style, this is one of two covered bridges spanning Perry Stream.  The other is at Happy Corner. Today it carries pedestrian traffic.

Eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo courtesy of the NH Department of Transportation

Sunday, May 29, 2011

District 13 Schoolhouse - Located at 7 Cherry Hill Road, Grafton

This schoolhouse served the railroad village of Grafton Depot from 1854-1927. Its excellent state of repair is a testament to education’s important role in Grafton.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2010

Photo courtesy of Andrew Cushing


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Contoocook Covered Railroad Bridge - Spans the Contoocook River on the former Concord and Claremont Railroad, Contoocook Village, Hopkinton

Built in 1889, this double-web Town lattice truss is the world’s oldest covered railroad bridge.  Wooden bridges persisted on Boston & Maine lines well into the 20th century.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1980
Conservation License Plate Grant recipient, 2001

Photo courtesy of Shelly Angers

Friday, May 27, 2011

Webster Stagecoach Stop and Store - Located at Route 111A, Danville

This early 19th-century store is the only documented rural stagecoach stop remaining in New Hampshire. Handwritten customer accounts survive on its interior walls.

Listed on the Listed on the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, 2006
Conservation License Plate Grant recipient, 2009

Photo courtesy of the Danville Heritage Commission

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Walpole Village - Located on Main Street, Walpole

Walpole Village, an early leader in the local preservation movement, is lies in the rich and historic agricultural landscape of the Connecticut River valley. 

Recorded in the Historic American Building Survey.

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Orford Street Historic District - Located along Orford Street / Route 10, Orford

Mid-19th-century travelers enthused about this village’s beautiful design and mall: “the most charming country village … Is there a parallel to this in the whole country?”

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1977

Photo courtesy of Carl Schmidt

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mount Jasper Lithic Source - Berlin

Native Americans used this mine, near the top of Mt. Jasper, beginning 12,000 years ago. Tools from here have been found across New England.

Listed on National Register of Historic Places, 1990

SCRAP Field School, NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Monday, May 23, 2011

South Danbury Christian Church - Located on U.S. Route 4 at Walker Brook Road, Danbury

Nestled between Ragged Mountain and the Northern Railroad, South Danbury’s church anchors its village and resonates in the poetry of Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1985

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Marlow Village - Located at Routes 10 and 123, Marlow

Granted in 1753, this village—with its church, town hall and Odd Fellows Hall on Village Pond—represents picture-perfect New England.
NH Film & Television Office photo

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Strawbery Banke - Located at 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth, NH


Some of New Hampshire’s largest and most successful urban archaeology projects have taken place among these historical narrow streets and wood frame buildings.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1975
Photograph courtesy of Sheila Charles, Archaeologist at Strawbery Banke

Friday, May 20, 2011

Wiswall Falls Mill Archaeological Site - Durham

 For much of the 19th century, this site was the location of Durham’s most successful manufacturing industry. It reflects the importance of the water-powered mills.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1988

Photo courtesy of the Durham Historic Association

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Bartlett Engine House - Located in Bartlett off of U.S. Route 302

 Built in 1887 and lengthened in 1912 for huge articulated steam locomotives, this building housed the “helper” engines needed to pull freight trains through Crawford Notch.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2008
Conservation License Plate Grant recipient, 2009


1st photo NH Division of Historical Resources photo
2nd photo from the collection of Scotty Mallatt

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Littleton Community Center - Located at 120 Main Street, Littleton

 This spacious c.1884 house has served Littleton since 1919, as a home for WWI soldiers, a meeting place, source of pride for the community and more.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2007

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Hancock Village Historic District - Located on Main Street, Hancock


Several of this picturesque historic district’s 19th-century public buildings are now being upgraded for energy efficiency while maintaining their architectural heritage. 
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1988
NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Monday, May 16, 2011

Lake Sunapee - Located in Sunapee, Newbury and New London

 The fifth largest lake in New Hampshire, Lake Sunapee became a popular 19th-century vacation area, boasting grand hotels, steamboats and three of the state’s five lighthouses. 

Image courtesy of the Sunapee Historical Society

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Castle in the Clouds, or “Lucknow” - Located at Route 171, 455 Old Mountain Road, Moultonborough


Designed by Boston architectural firm J. Williams Beal and Sons, Lucknow incorporates both traditional handcraftsmanship and technologically advanced early 20th-century amenities.
Eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Manchester Airport’s 1937 Terminal - Located on the East Perimeter Road, Manchester


This Moderne terminal was part of a Works Progress Administration airport expansion during the Depression. The New Hampshire Aviation Historical Society opens its expanded museum here today!
Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2004
Photo courtesy of Daniel Moses

Friday, May 13, 2011

Stone Arch Railroad Bridge - Located on the Cheshire Railroad over the South Branch of the Ashuelot River in Keene



This immense 1847 stone arch bridge is an impressive example of the quality workmanship and masonry engineering design along the length of the Cheshire Railroad.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2006

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Isles of Shoals - Located six miles out to sea, off the coast of Rye

The Isles of Shoals have drawn artists, fisherman, summer visitors and naturalists for centuries.  The Maine and New Hampshire border divides the islands. 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1980.

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Stark Village - Located in Stark on NH Route 110 at Northside Road

Stark Village travels worldwide in puzzles, postcards and holiday greetings. The 1947 New Hampshire Legislature voted to preserve its historic covered bridge as a state asset.

Stark Covered Bridge: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1980
Stark Union Church: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1983
           
            Photo courtesy of Ken Gallager

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Downtown Claremont - Located along Main Street and the Sugar River, Claremont

 
Claremont was among the earliest downtowns in the state to be listed on the National Register. Today owners are rehabilitating key properties with federal preservation tax incentives.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and 1979.

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Monday, May 9, 2011

Clinton Grove Academy - Weare

Generations of Weare schoolchildren have passed through this local landmark, built in 1874 to replace the school where abolitionist Moses Cartland first served as headmaster.

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2004

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Sunday, May 8, 2011

NH Iron Factory Blast Furnace - Franconia


Built in 1859 by noted ironmaster Seneca Pettee, Jr., this octagonal stone structure, New Hampshire’s only surviving blast furnace, produced cast iron from local ore. 
Eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Visible across the Gale River from Main Street (Routes 18 and 116)


NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Brennick Lochmere Archaeological Site - Belmont


Native Americans camped at the Drake site for more than 8000 years for hunting, fishing and gathering. It is now part of a state park.
NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Friday, May 6, 2011

Canterbury Shaker Village - Canterbury


Among the most intact of the nineteen original Shaker villages in the United States, Canterbury’s architecture reflects the ideology of the communal, utopian society. 
Listed as a National Historic Landmark, 1993
NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Gale Memorial Library/Laconia Public Library - Laconia

Designed by famed architect Charles Brigham and built in 1903, this Romanesque Revival library’s stained glass windows have been restored using Conservation License Plate funds.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1985.
Conservation License Plate grant recipient, 2006, 2008 and 2009

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

The White Mountains: Mt. Kearsarge North Fire Tower - Conway, overlooking the White Mountain National Forest

Mt. Kearsarge North’s historic fire tower – the last standing in the White Mountain National Forest – provides a panoramic view of the “Switzerland of America.”

Listed on the National Historic Lookout Registry, 1991

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Lisbon Railroad Station - Lisbon

Currently a Visitor Center and Railroad Museum, this c.1870 Eastlake-style station was saved by the town in 2004. Passionate volunteers completed its restoration in 2008. 

Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, 2008
Conservation License Plate grant recipient, 2008.

Photo courtesy of Lisbon Main Street, Inc.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Colebrook Archaeological Site - Colebrook


This unique 10,200 year old site has yielded important information, including the earliest example of structural remains identified at a Paleo-Indian site in New Hampshire.

NH Division of Historical Resources photo

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Salmon Falls Village - Rollinsford



This well-preserved mill village, a fine example of 19th-century industrial urban planning, is experiencing an economic renaissance with art studios in the mills.   
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1980
Photo courtesy of Peter Michaud





Friday, April 29, 2011

N.H.’s preservation picks highlighted throughout May

New Hampshire’s identity is closely tied to its history. Our historic buildings, villages, bridges and landscapes remind us of who lived here before us, shape who we are today and help define how we plan for our future.

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (NHDHR) will celebrate “May is Preservation Month” by highlighting a unique New Hampshire historic property on its website every day. Each entry will include a picture of the property as well as its location and a brief description. 
read the full press release here

Be sure to check back every day in May for NH's Picks!