QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS BY MONTH, recent to oldest:
DECEMBER 2018
QUESTION:
Which natural disaster has not occurred to any significant degree in recorded time in Salisbury New Hampshire?:
a) Severe flooding
b) Tornado
c) Earthquake 5.0 or over
d) Forest wild fire
e) Hurricane
f) Landslide
g) Drought
h) Complete destruction of crops by an insect
ANSWER:
Research seems to indicate that the only natural disaster not described in Salisbury from recorded colonial history to present times is that of Forest Wild Fires. There were certainly fires that destroyed several buildings at a time however there is no evidence of large amounts of forest being burned. Of course, any corrections are welcomed!
Please visit this link on this site for details:
https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/wicked-weather/
NOVEMBER 2018
QUESTION:
There was once a simple tenpin alley in Salisbury that on stormy days provided an entertaining rendezvous. Where was it?
ANSWER:
In the little gem of a book called Halfway Up The Hill by area local Paul J. Fenton Jr., Mr. Fenton describes a tenpin alley that was located upstairs in the old gristmill on the Blackwater River at the end of West Salisbury Road.
Shaw’s Grist Mill
OCTOBER 2018
QUESTION:
There is an interesting and baffling flag flying at Salisbury Heights with the British Union Jack and the 13 rebellious stripes of the Colonies. What is it?
ANSWER:
It called the Grand Union Flag and though baffling with its motifs it really did fly during our Revolutionary War era.
For details please see:
https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/new-the-flag-project/
SEPTEMBER 2018
QUESTION:
What were the original 13 colonies?
ANSWER:
Courtesy duckster.com
Virginia (1607) – John Smith and the London Company.
New York (1626) – Founded by the Dutch but became a British colony in 1664.
New Hampshire (1623) – Exploration and mapping -John Mason, the first land holder.
Massachusetts Bay (1630) – Founded by Puritans looking for religious freedom.
Maryland (1633) – Founded by George and Cecil Calvert as a safe haven for Catholics.
Connecticut (1636) – Founded by Thomas Hooker after he was told to leave Massachusetts.
Rhode Island (1636) – Founded by Roger Williams to have a place of religious freedom for all.
Delaware (1638) – Peter Minuit and the New Sweden Company. British took over in 1664.
North Carolina (1663) – Originally part of the Province of Carolina. Split off from South Carolina in 1712.
South Carolina (1663) – Originally part of the Province of Carolina. Split off from North Carolina in 1712.
New Jersey (1664) – First settled by the Dutch, the English took over in 1664.
Pennsylvania (1681) – Founded by William Penn and the Quakers.
Georgia (1732) – Founded by James Oglethorpe as a settlement for debtors.
AUGUST 2018
QUESTION:
Why are there Rattlesnakes on some of our Historical flags?
ANSWER:
The following is an excerpt from:
http://appalachianmagazine.com/2015/02/01/the-rattlesnake-americas-first-national-symbol/
“In 1750, the Crown began sending convicted criminals to live in America, an act that outraged colonists who had no desire to live alongside thieves and revilers.
The following year, a satirical commentary published in his Pennsylvania Gazette, by legendary writer Ben Franklin suggested that in response, colonists begin sending rattlesnakes to England.
A handful of years later, Franklin again published a cartoon featuring the rattlesnake, this time under the banner, “Join or Die.” His famous woodcut presented a snake cut into eight sections. It represented the colonies, with New England joined together as the head and South Carolina as the tail, following their order along the coast. This was the first political cartoon published in an American newspaper”.
The symbol was used during the French and Indian War and the American revolution and remains a symbol of standing for freedom and independence.
JULY 2018
QUESTION:
Why are there Pine trees on some of our Historical flags?
ANSWER:
The answer depends on which historian you ask.
Here are two explanations:
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170704-eight-us-flags-that-could-have-been
“The lofty white pines of New England were much prized by the Royal Navy for the construction of its grandest warships. Dating from the Massachusetts Charter of 1691, prize specimens were marked with a broad arrow symbol denoting property of the Crown and shipped to England. This form of compulsory purchase led to the Pine Tree Riot of 1772, a precursor to the famous Boston Tea Party of 1774 and war with Great Britain a year later”.
———————–
http://www.vexman.net/flags/NEFlag.html
David Martucci is flag historian who has done extensive research as well and connects the Pine Tree symbol originally to the Native Americans.
For images of our Pine tree flags> Historical Flags Project
JUNE 2018
QUESTION:
There is a flag flying at the Heights, in front of the Library, that looks just like an American Flag but the stars are in an odd alignment in the canton. What is it?
ANSWER:
It is the flag representing the 33 states of the United Stares of America at the time of the outbreak of the Civil War when Fort Sumter in Charleston South Carolina harbor was shelled by the confederacy. This flag honors all soldiers from Salisbury who fought in the Civil War. Salisbury had several loses and records seem to show that nearly all but one of Salisbury’s fallen sons are buried near where they fell. Mesach Blaisdell at the Baptist Cemetery is the exception. His body was brought home by train likely and is buried here.
For more information visit our page Historical Flags Project
MAY 2018
QUESTION:
What serene and idyllic part of Salisbury has seen a blacksmith shop, a general store with a post office, two schools over the years, about 5 mills (grist mills and saw mills), twin bridges, two other bridges, was home to extraordinary cabinetmakers, a swimming hole, a cluster of a several sites called “the Connecticut Camps”, two homes that were inns for summer boarders and one also as a boarding house for mill millworkers, has a large cemetery and also small graveyard but never had a church?
View of the Grist Mill, West Salisbury and Bay Roads
ANSWER:
West Salisbury also once referred to as “Mill Village”
Please visit the West Salisbury page for information and images.
APRIL 2018
QUESTION:
In what part of Salisbury did the following exist over the years: at least 2 taverns, hatshop, two large inns, glove factory, shoe store/workshop, a farm stand, bull rake factory, steam shingle mill, cider mill, several general stores, potash manufacturing site, a Tea House, two Doctor’s residences, the single grave of one Doctors wife, a large historic cemetery hidden from view, a Doctors’ office, a Grange Hall with many members used for agricultural talks, large suppers, plays, orchestral entertainment etc., a cement block workshop, 3 public schoolhouses, an advanced program school, possibly a meeting place of the Samaritan Lodge of Masons, ice cream store, blacksmith shop, filing station, a house that exists now in its prominent location but was actually moved there by horse from another location in Salisbury, a fire station, a church that was moved 3 times, a home that once belonged to a judge in which a very famous person to be was once married, post office, four historic structures which burned all in one night: Grand Army Hall used as a public hall including dances, a boarding house and aparsonage.The last clue will likely give it away. Site of the telephone company building since perhaps as early as 1899 and the general location since.
ANSWER: “South Road Village” located in the Rte 4 and Rte 127 junction area
FEB/MAR 2018
4 QUESTIONS:
Where did Daniel Webster study?
Where was Daniel Webster married?
Where did Daniel Webster worship?
Where did Daniel Webster teach?
JAN 2018
QUESTION
Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire on January 18, 1782 so why is his birthplace located in Franklin, New Hampshire?
DECEMBER 2017
QUESTION
It was 1843 and a group of people in Salisbury sold their property at merely nominal prices, closed their shops and their farm crops remained unharvested. Why?
Miller predicted that Christ’s second coming would occur in April 1843 and that all worthy people would ascend to heaven on October 23, 1844. Thousands of people across the United States, including in Ohio, eagerly anticipated the event. Numerous people forsook their original religious beliefs and adopted Millerism, hoping that Jesus Christ would find no fault with them upon his return to Earth. Millerites consisted of all types of people. Many working-class people hoped that Christ’s arrival would end their laborious lives. Other Americans believed that many people were sinners and that only the true believers, the Millerites, would escape punishment. God wanted the deserving to assist their unworthy neighbors through various reform movements, such as the temperance and abolition movements. Other people believed that citizens of the United States were God’s chosen people and that Jesus Christ’s arrival would prove this point.
As October 23, 1844 approached, some Millerites went so far as to sell their earthly possessions in preparation for the second coming of Christ. Many sources claim that the Millerites, dressed in white robes, climbed the highest mountains and hills that they could find so that they would be closer to heaven. Unfortunately for these people, they did not ascend to heaven on the appointed day. Miller claimed to have made an error and quickly issued a new date for the second coming, approximately six months later. Once again, this day came and went. In most cases, Miller’s followers abandoned him. In 1845, some of Miller’s followers joined the Adventist Church, which Miller helped establish. Adventists believe in the second coming of Christ, but they do not specify a day when this event will occur.
NOVEMBER 2017
QUESTION
What was the first one room schoolhouse in Salisbury dated 1772 and how many after that date were there?
ANSWER:
The location of the first known school in Salisbury was located on the top of Searle’s Hill near the original location of the Meeting House (Congregational Church). It was constructed of logs and larger than 20 feet square. Seating was simply boards along the walls.
The schoolhouses were constructed, deconstructed, replaced or renovated and our town borders changed as well, but it would seem from the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn there were about 15 one room schoolhouses built within what are now the current borders of Salisbury.
Several schools were built in the earliest days and then discontinued. After a time there were 14 school districts each with their own one room schoolhouse. For a more detailed explanation, link to oral history recollections, a link to a video by a neighboring Historical Society with an accurate reenactment of old one room schoolhouse days, and a link to images of our own schoolhouses please visit the following page on our website:
For more about the settlement on Searle’s Hill:
https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/searles-hill/
OCTOBER 2017
QUESTION
On Sept 6th 1881 a strange phenomena referred to as “Yellow Day” occurred in Salisbury and elsewhere in New England and somewhat beyond. What was it?
ANSWER: “September 6th 1881 was characterized as the “Yellow Day” and will be remembered as exhibiting some of the most beautiful phenomena ever witnessed. The day was warm, even sultry, and the rays of the sun were obstructed by a curtain of haze or smoke.The green of the grass and foliage of the trees and shrubbery was converted into blue, while the prevailing tint upon other objects was yellow.”
There is more detailed description of the unusual day and likely cause on the following link to a page on this website. Quoted from the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn
salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/wicked-weather/
SEPTEMBER 2017
There are 6 questions for September to see how well you know Salisbury NH
Pick which name does not belong in each category.
QUESTION #1 Old Names for our town: New Kingston, Stevenstown, Bakerstown
QUESTION #2 Names of Lanes: Bacon Lane, Sawyer’s Lane, Lover’s Lane, Fellows Lane
QUESTION #3 Names of Roads/Streets: Heath Road, Buckhorn Road, West Salisbury Road, Couchtown Road, Pettengill Road, Montgomery Road, Bog Road, Fourth Street, Dunlap Road, Robie Road
QUESTION #4 Names of Roads with “Hill” in them: Little Hill Road, Calef Hill Road, Smith Hill Road, Oak Hill Road, Raccoon Hill Road, Beech Hill Road, Loverin Hill Road, Searle’s Hill Road
QUESTION #5 Names of Ponds: Shaw’s Pond, Wilder’s Pond, Duck Pond, Stirrup Iron Pond, Tucker Pond, Beaver Pond, Sawyer’s Pond, Greenough’s Pond
QUESTION #6 Names of Brooks: Punch Brook, Loverin Brook, Cook Brook, Howe Brook, Frazier Brook, Willow Brook, Mill Brook, Stirrup Iron Brook, Bradley Brook, Beaverdam Brook
ANSWERS:
#1) Our town was never named New Kingston
#2) There is no Sawyers Lane. Lover’s Lane still exists but barely and as a walking path just NW of the Crossroads.
#3) Pettengill Road does not exist
#4) Smith Hill Road exists but it is within the borders of the city of Franklin
#5) There is no Sawyer’s Pond
#6) There is no Loverin Brook
AUGUST 2017
There are 2 questions for August.
QUESTION #1: According to statistics calculated every 10 years records show that in 1790 the population of Salisbury was 1,372. Currently, give or take a few we are nearly at that point. Between then and now however the population dropped to 350. When was this?
QUESTION #2: A tradition established in 1899, is one which we continue in August here in Salisbury. What is it and why was it established?
ANSWERS: In 1930 the population of Salisbury dropped to 350.
The tradition which began in 1899, as the initiative of then Governor Frank Rollins, was to help restore closeness, unity, and bring prosperity back to the state of New Hampshire. It was called Old Home Week.
In our Museum there is a photo taken on Old Home Day in 1929. It shows over 215 people including mostly locals and some visitors! It is a very large number when one considers the town’s population at the time. It shows a great town spirit.
Please check our page on this website to read more about the changes in population and Old Home Week/Day.
JULY 2017
The question for July is similar to June’s. It is about the location of another lost Salisbury community:
QUESTION: What is the hill close to the center of Salisbury at one time but no longer the center? CLUES: It once served as a signal warning site for Indians. At the top sat Salisbury’s earliest church frequented by the Websters whose Reverend once “chased the Devil”. It had a school nearby, cemetery on top, several residences up along its steep sides and on top, all gone now. It afforded a spectacular view of the countryside and was described as a beautiful site from below looking upwards as well.
ANSWER: Searle’s Hill
Please hit the link for a more in depth description and images.
JUNE 2017
QUESTION: What was the once thriving part of our town that had a small community with a school, church, post office, cemetery, farmable flat pasture land, a small sawmill at one time, running water, and several homesteads one of which had a beautiful large barn. Barely a trace of it exists now and why?
ANSWER: Smith’s Corner Smith’s Corner is in an area of our town which exists inside today’s “flood plain”. It is located along the old south range road in the westerly part of our town before Tucker Pond on the way to Warner. Though it is an unpopulated rural location, there is very little evidence today at Smith’s Corner of the little village that existed there in times before the 1940’s. Please hit the link for a more in depth description and images.
MAY 2017
The Trivia Challenge question for May is regarding several American Revolutionary War era flags in particular: Why does the rattlesnake appear on some flags and why are the British Union Jack and the Continental stripes together on a flag?
ANSWERS:
-
- The Rattlesnake was the favorite animal emblem of the Americans even before the Revolution. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette carried a bitter article protesting the British practice of sending convicts to America. The author suggested that the colonists return the favor by shipping “a cargo of rattlesnakes, which could be distributed in St. James Park, Spring Garden, and other places of pleasure, and particularly in the noblemen’s gardens.”
- Three years later the same paper printed the image in order to encourage the settlers in this new country to band together in unity to resist the French and Indian assaults. To remind the delegates of the danger of disunity, the serpent was shown cut to pieces. Each segment is marked with the name of some colonies, the Maritimes (Canadian) and colony of Georgia for some reason are not included. New england is one segment. Other newspapers took up the snake theme.
- The image again was used extensively during the Revolutionary War era.
- This Continental or Grand Union Flag was displayed over the camp of Washington’s militia in Boston. It shows the English Cross of St. George and the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew. There are 13 stripes representing the 13 colonies in place at the time. The Flag design evolves from the flag of the mother country and includes the rebellious colonies.
For more on Rattlesnakes, The Grand Union Continental Flag and the story behind the other Historic Flags flying in Salisbury during the season please visit our page on this website:
APRIL 2017
QUESTION #1: What is a Freshet?
ANSWER #1: A freshet is an older term that often referred to spring thaws that might also combine with rain creating swollen streams and rivers. It can also be used to mean floods in general. See on our site: Wicked Weather
QUESTION #2: What is a Tub Wheel?
ANSWER #2: A tub wheel is a very old invention that was used to harness the flow of water by way of gears and shafts. It was a commonly used device in mills in early New England. See on our site: The Power of Water
(Thank you Brian Clough of Sanborn Mills for explaining and showing me how Tub Wheels actually work)
Curious about our town mills and past commercial ventures by our enterprising past residents? See on our site: Commerce and Industries
MARCH 2017
QUESTION: Who were the “Wild Irish?
ANSWER: Some of the earliest settlers in our area were the Maloon family who moved from a remote corner of Boscawen (now Webster) into the uncharted lands of Stevenstown (Salisbury) in about 1742. They lived above the corn fields on the Blackwater next to the Millstream where good clean running water was available year round. The Maloons were of Irish extraction and fall into a category know as the “wild Irish” who, unlike the Londonderry settlers, preferred to remain outside the settlements. There were several Irish families like this scattered through the Merrimack valley that may have been a remnant population of freed Irish slaves whose freedom came after the restoration of the English monarchy in 1661. Just to note briefly, the use of slaves prior to 1660 was mostly taken from other British provincial peoples – the Irish, Scots and Welch. -From the scholarly work of historian David Smith >. https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/native-people/
Burial site of the Maloons: They were buried in the Smith/Bean Graveyard which was moved during the construction of the Blackwater Dam Project in the 1940’s. The graves from that cemetery are located in their designated section in the Maplewood Cemetery complex on route 4 however there is not stone with their name. This section is regarded as full and it is assumed that the section that has no stones may contain the remains of these earliest settlers or those buried without stones in the Smith/Bean graveyard.
FEB 2017
QUESTION: What are the “Love Letters ” in the Salisbury Historical Society archives?
ANSWER:In the late 1850’s there was a gentleman by the name of Edwin Delancey, formerly of New York but then residing in Grass Valley California, who went west to take part in the Gold Rush. He wrote a series of heartfelt letters to Esther Dimond of the Dimond Family of Concord and Salisbury. Earlier in 1844 a brother of Ester Dimond went off to California (never to be heard from by his east coast family) and perhaps Mr. Delancey made a connection through him to the Dimond family of New Hampshire but that is unknown. Esther and Mr. Delancey never met as far as we know. There are many unknowns in this story. His letters to her are most interesting not only as “Love Letters’ but as a reflection of the times in California, his own deep reflections on life and what we might call today “an elaborate style of writing”. Perhaps with the publication of these letters on this site we will evoke responses from those who may know more about this relationship and these people. His letters are listed in the Correspondence Index and can be read individually by clicking on the links located on that page. Unfortunately, we do not have Esther Dimond’s responding letters to Mr. Delancey.
Thank you to those who may have helped in transcribing the Love Letters and a very special Thank You to Karen Sheldon for all her many hours of transcription work and additional research on this.
JANUARY 2017
QUESTION: What did the early settlers do to remove snow?
ANSWER: For many decades, they rolled it rather than remove or plow it.
Matt Soniak of Mental Floss writes:
“ON A ROLL: For a good stretch of American history, getting rid of snow was of no great concern. In fact, people actually wanted it around. While this might blow the minds of modern Northeasterners and Midwesterners, keep in mind that these were the days of the horse-drawn vehicle, not the Prius. To improve travel in winter conditions, horse carts and coaches traded their wheels in for ski-like runners. With those things on, the more packed snow on the roads, the better! Historian and weather geek Eric Sloane wrote that, in the 18th and 19th centuries, “snow was never a threat” to road travel, “but rather it was an asset.”
To keep roads in optimal snowy condition, many municipalities employed a “snow warden” to pack and flatten the snow with a crude vehicle called a snow roller—essentially a giant, wide wheel weighed down with rocks and pulled by oxen or horses. A far cry from the winter road work we see today, it was more like maintaining a ski slope or smoothing out an ice rink. Stranger still, snow wardens actually had to install snow on the pathways of covered bridges so that travel would not be interrupted”.
The following page on our website has more information and images:
https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/wicked-weather/
DECEMBER 2016
QUESTION#1: How did the Puritans and early settlers celebrate Christmas?
ANSWER #1: They didn’t. The Pilgrims who came to America in 1620 were strict Puritans, with firm views on religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Scripture did not name any holiday except the Sabbath, they argued, and the very concept of “holy days” implied that some days were not holy. “They for whom all days are holy can have no holiday,” was a common Puritan maxim. Puritans were particularly contemptuous of Christmas, nicknaming it “Foolstide” and banning their flock from any celebration of it throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. For more information on our website: https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/christmas/
(Thank you to Paul Laraia for the question and info leads)
QUESTION#2: Who was Sal S. Bury and what did he have to do with the town of Salisbury’s Christmas decorations?
ANSWER #2: Sal. S. Bury was a large Pumpkin!
Sal S. Bury came to Salisbury for the first time in 1996. He was raffled as part of a fundraiser to purchase our town’s Christmas decorations and spring bulbs. In 1996 a town large wide fund raising venture was underway. For more information, showing the original poster and information on the wonderful town wide effort visit on our website:
https://www.salisburyhistoricalsociety.org/decorating-our-town-for-christmas/
(Thank you to Mary Philips for the question and Margaret Warren and Kathy Downes for the info)
http://nemasket.blogspot.com/2011/08/milkweed-pods-for-war-1944.html