Live Free and Draw

An example of how NH town governments kept costs low 200 years ago: the annual minister’s firewood bee!

Communities often provided for these services explicitly, in the contracts they voted on and signed to set aside an official “minister’s wood lot” and to “settle” a minister in town.  Families also had the option of paying money towards the service, or providing firewood of their own.

And for the record, 40 cords is a pretty decent haul for one day’s work.

Since this passage appears in Griffin‘s chapter on the War of 1812, I’ve categorized it under NH History ~ 1810s.