Marek 1770s, 1780s, construction, Contoocook, government, Henniker, revolutionary era, SOURCE=Cogswell

Bridge Up, Money Down (Henniker)

1780: How much rum does it take to build a bridge during a Revolution?

Marek 1860s, Adventures of a Deaf-Mute in the White Mountains, Connecticut, SOURCE=HHS, SOURCE=roadside markers, Vermont, William B. Swett

Swett 4: Wheel Trouble

1865: Swett's train ride to the mountains goes smoothly ... until the wheels come off!

Marek 1700-1799, fox, hunting, Piscataquog, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Fox Chase (Weare)

This snowy tale from Little's history falls somewhere between "hunting story" and "dream"... << BEFORE: Chasing moose NEXT: Nice Bear >> As with so many of his hunting tales, Little supplies no specific date for this anecdote; we'll file it under 1700-1799 because it's included in hunting stories from the "early times". 13 February 1767

Marek 1770s, colonial, Henniker, hunting, moose, Piscataquog, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Moose Chase (Weare)

If I've learned one thing from reading old hunting stories, it's this: These guys were HUNGRY. << BEFORE: Wolves around a fire NEXT: Fox chase >> This has the flavor of a tall tale that grew a bit in the telling, but who can say for certain?  Such are the delights of collecting oral history … Continue reading Moose Chase (Weare)

Marek 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, Connecticut, Cornish, death, education, glass, hiking, judicial branch, Keene, Roxbury, Salmon P. Chase, SOURCE=Griffin, SOURCE=roadside markers, sources, Vermont

Young Chase at Keene

Tragedies, travels, & teenage failures of one of New Hampshire’s most powerful exports…

Marek 1600s, berries, corn, encounter & exploration, food, forestry, Journal of Martin Pring, Peas, rivers, seacoast

Pring 09 ~ We beheld their Gardens

Martin Pring ventures upriver in native canoes for a garden tour…

Marek 1820s, death, Piscataquog, SOURCE=Little, Weare

Drowning (Weare, 1824)

Oh no, another disaster down by the Piscataquog... Or IS it?!?! Robert Peaslee was born in Weare 11 April, 1818, so this must have happened in in 1824.  He was the great grandson of Moses & Mary Peaslee.  Mary Peaslee once helped to "lay" a ghost at Rockland Mills.

Marek 1930s, 1938 Hurricane Letter, animals, chicken, Contoocook, Henniker, Hillsboro, Hopkinton, milk, mills, religion, weather

Hurricane Letter from Henniker (1938) (Part 3)

Dorothy's account continues, with some rather surprising twists...

Marek 1930s, 1938 Hurricane Letter, Contoocook, Henniker, weather

Hurricane Letter from Henniker (1938) (Part 1)

A Henniker schoolteacher wrote this letter to her mother during the Hurricane of '38...

Marek 1600s, construction, encounter & exploration, herbs, Journal of Martin Pring, Piscataqua, seacoast

Pring 02 ~ Sassafras Bay

Pring's crew find what they're looking for on the New England seacoast ...

Marek 1600s, animals, encounter & exploration, forestry, herbs, Journal of Martin Pring, Piscataqua, seacoast

Pring 01 ~ Quest for Sassafras

Martin Pring details his visit to the New Hampshire seacoast in 1603.

Marek 1620s, encounter & exploration, Merrimack, Piscataqua, rivers, seacoast, SOURCE=Little

Bounds of New Hampshire (Mason Grant, 1629)

This 1629 land grant by the Plymouth Company caused many headaches when everyone realized they'd ALREADY granted some of the same land to other people... not to mention the inhabitants already living thereupon! SOURCE: Text of grant as found in William Little's History of Weare, New Hampshire 7 November 1629

Marek 1640s, Dover, encounter & exploration, hiking, Piscataqua, rivers, Saco, SOURCE=Calloway, SOURCE=Winthrop, White Mountains

Darby Field Climbs Mount Washington (1642)

Two Indian guides lead the first European expedition to the top of the White Mountains... I first encountered this account in Colin G. Calloway's Dawnland Encounters, but the full text is available on pp. 62-63 of John Winthrop's Journal (1630-1649).  In addition to keeping such detailed notes on New England history, John Winthrop was of course a … Continue reading Darby Field Climbs Mount Washington (1642)