South (Range) Road Village
Currently, Route 127 and Route 4 Crossroads Area
According to John Dearborn, Chapter XXX, History of Salisbury, NH, p. 393, A description from Mr. Eastman from 1823 regarding South Road Village describes a bustling site. At the time, it was west of Lower Salisbury village, east along the Merrimack River, which is now part of Franklin, NH:
“This is also on the northern mail route from Boston to Burlington. In this village, there are about thirty dwelling houses, one Congregational meeting house, erected in the year 1790, two stores, one bookbindery, one tavern, one saddlery, one hatter’s shop, two shoemakers’ shops, three wheelwright shops, and two blacksmith’s shops. Also, a post office, called the West Post Office, two law offices, and an academy.”
According to John Dearborn, Chapter XXX, History of Salisbury, NH, p. 390, ” Formerly, this village was a great center for trade, and its hotels were resorts for travelers, teamsters, and the farmers from the north, who brought their products to market. With the opening of the railroads, the business rapidly decreased, and the South Road Village, like that at the Centre, gave indications of decline.” Written 1890
The above was written in 1890, and we would like to add that, although its function as a trade center is diminished, it remains a quintessential scenic New England town site with lovely, restored structures today.
Looking west, South Road Village intersection. Of note: Photo taken before the fire of July 1882, which destroyed the Inn on the upper left. Visible are fences in the foreground belonging to 4 substantial buildings destroyed in 1895 by fire: The Parsonage, The Grand Army Hall, Greenough’s Store, and Mrs. Chapman’s “Kearsarge Cottage” lodging. The identity of the trailer-like building in front of the Church is unknown. Greenleaf’s, Hill’s, and Red Store Tea Room store next to the church was disassembled in the late 1960s. House #1 at the crossroads still has its hip roof, and what is now a front lawn was a curving road onto Route 4 (Fourth NH Turnpike). There was a view of Kearsarge and a triangular grassy area with a flagpole at the junction! Still in existence is a cluster of structures that were behind house #1 that housed several commercial ventures over time. See close-up and additional photos below.
Orientation of Roads in the Junction
Pre-Revolution roads, as research indicates:
- Early travel east and west entered along the established South Range Road 127.
- Early travel came up from the south, including Hopkinton through Mutton Road, a well-traveled Road at one time, and along the Old Battle Street, which connects with it.
- Early travel also came up from Water Street in Boscawen, a town established about 20 years earlier than Salisbury. Water Street is called Rabbit Road in Salisbury.
- Calef Hill Road was also used, and the area where the Beans likely settled early on.
- The N/S route 4 did not exist as it is configured today at the crossroads. Previously, parts of it were called High Street in Boscawen Old College Road. By the 1790’s it was the Fourth NH turnpike. It did not go directly through the crossroads until the late 1950s or early 1960s. Reluctantly and with much resistance, the owner, Rene Beaudoin, finally agreed to have Route 4 run through his land. In the aerial view below, you can see the new store location. Route 127 did go straight through as it always was, the South Range Road from the time the town was laid out. Mutton Road brought traffic from Hopkinton through Boscawen and West Boscawen (now Webster). Rabbit Road is an extension of the travelled Water Street in Boscawen and was another entry into the crossroads and the way north (route 4).
- How did Route 4 enter the junction before that? There is reason to think that initially it came up through what we call Bacon Lane and took a turn at the home now owned by the Rapalyeas. In time, we know Old Coach Road was established as a main thoroughfare. Any vintage images of the various enterprises and home images that existed in the old “South Road Village” would be appreciated.
Pre-Revolutionary Structures
Without doing scientific dendrology studies, it is difficult to pinpoint exact dates of construction, but using deeds and research, the following structures existed during Colonial times (pre-1776), making structures not only “colonial’ in style but true colonials in the purest terminology. We are relying on records.
First Structure at the Crossroads? We may never know:
- At the junction NW corner once existed the Stephen Webster one-story house. Whether or not he maintained it as a tavern stand is unknown, but tradition has it, according to John Dearborn, p 846, History of Salisbury, that it was the first tavern in town. At some point, it was purchased by Josiah Rogers, who, some records indicate, converted it into a two-story home and tavern, which burned in late 1882. The present Goss/Johnson House was moved there from Mutton Road in the 1800s. The date given for Stephen Webster by Paul Shaw is 1745, which is very unlikely. The earliest settlers were just barely settling along the Merrimack at the fort of Stevenstown, Ebenezer Webster, the “early northerly pioneer’ had not arrived in abt 1760. It is, however, reasonably included here as one of the two earliest structures at the crossroads.
- Andrew Pettengill Tavern, south side of 127 east of junction- The Pettengill Tavern, Allard. Described as the earliest framed structure two two-story between the two rivers” (Blackwater and Merrimack). Torn down and not the current structure, which is adjacent. Site of town meetings and religious gatherings. (This structure did not likely predate the Tappan /Robie house on North Road, so there is confusion here, as it also is a two-story structure.)
- We can say with certainty that there were two structures on these lots before the Revolution.
- Please contact us if you have any information on the Josiah Rogers house: contact@salisburyhistoricalsociety.org
Abt 1760-1770, likely in order.
- South side of 127 east- south of Academy Hall -Joseph Bean House, Rapalyea, abt the same time as 2 below on Bacon Lane/Old College
- North side of 127 East of junction -John Webster House, Olson across from Academy Hall
- North side of 127, West of the junction of the Junction- Capt John Webster House, Page House
- South side of 127 east of junction- Andrew Pettengill, Allard house
- North side of 127 east of junction -Captain John Webster House- Yellow Colonial, Swendson
Taverns & Lodging
Before 1769- Stephen Webster House (N/W corner of Crossroads junction of Rte 4 and Rte 127) converted to 2 2-story Inn & Tavern in 1795 by Josiah Rogers. Salisbury Hotel became “Smith’s Temperance House”. Later called “Elm House” and destroyed by fire on July 15, 1882. Please see the photo below.
Before 1769-Andrew and Mathew Pettingill Tavern, a tavern in town, existed and was erected by Andrew Pettengill near the current Pettengill House, corner of Old Coach Road and Rte 4. Used as a town meeting location. Torn down.
Worship
1791- Current Congregational Church built 1791 with some materials from the original structure removed from Searle’s Hill. Currently, the Salisbury Congregational Church is located in the South Road Village area (Crossroads), but this was not always so. Andrew Bowers played a large role in creating financing.
A post by David Rapalyea: The Salisbury Congregational Church
Parsonage
#1-1833-1854 The first Parsonage was located in the house just after Academy Hall same side, Eastbound. The house has undergone many changes. On May 29, 1808, Daniel Wester was married by Judge Israel Kelly to Grace Fletcher in this residence belonging to Mr. Kelly. Please see the photo below.
Parsonage#2- Two-story home built by Andrew Bowers in 1789, became the Parsonage after abt 1854. It was destroyed by fire in 1894 with four other structures. Location is believed to be directly in the lanes of the current Route 4 southbound at the Crossroads.
For more on Andrew Bowers, home and later the Parsonage and fire : P 119- Salisbury Lost by Paul S. Shaw
Schools
Academy Hall 1806-1959
Abt 1778-1959 3 Schoolhouse see Old Schoolhouses
Grand Army of the Republic
Second story: Dancehall. Destroyed in full by the fire of 1894. Located at the current junction of Rte 127 & Rte 4. The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization founded in Illinois in 1866 for veterans of the Union Army and their family members. The Department of New Hampshire, which oversaw individual posts within the state, consisted of 95 individual posts throughout the state. The GAR Charter (Pingree Post 84)was disbanded in 1896 shortly after a fire destroyed its large building at the South Road Crossroads. The GAR organization ceased operations in 1956.
Cemetery
abt 1794 South Road Graveyard. A large cemetery exists SW of the crossroads in this area, but is not visible from the road. Referred to over the years as the South Road Graveyard, Salisbury P.O. Graveyard (across the road from the old Post Office), and erroneously the Congregational Church Cemetery.
Masonic Samaritan Lodge No 36 of Salisbury (1821-1840)
“Freemason Hall” at South Road Village.
There was a period when Freemasons experienced great prejudice and often violence against them, hence their organization valued privacy. Raids had been made upon lodge rooms and their furniture seized by force. No record of the Samaritan Lodge can be found, but it certainly existed, and its membership list is definite. It included the most active businessmen of the day, and despite what prejudice might have existed the the home of Lodge Master Andrew Bowers, who died in 1833 at the crossroads area (building destroyed by the 1895 fire), had beautiful masonic symbols on it for all to behold. For some years, it was impossible to hold meetings. Still operating in 1830 or later. On June 9, 1840, the charter was dissolved. The records of the Samaritan Lodge were taken by a few of the members and secretly buried.
Meetings of the Lodge were held over the Williams Store at the Heights in the upstairs meeting room. Located at the corner of Oak Hill Rd & Rte 4. Meetings were then held above Greenleaf’s Hatter Shop and finally at the Freemasons Hall, and occupied by Deacon T.D. Little as a shop. See pages 353-357 in the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn, 1890, for more on the area Masons.
Blacksmiths
ca 1767 Andrew Pettengill Blacksmith Shop was the first blacksmith in the town, residing in the house a the SW corner of Rte 127 and Old Coach Rd. The shop was located just west of the house.
Sherm Fellow’s Blacksmith Shop, corner of Bog road, east of the crossroads on South range Road (Rte 127). Please see the photos below.
Ca 1806 Glove Factory (date of operation unknown, see photo below) approx 1806, on Rte. 4 NE, and was attached to House #1 Crossroads at the junction of Rte 127 a. (1858 also used as Greenleaf’s Store, John White’s Store, then the Allen store, then J.H. Clement Shoe factory in 1858. Burned 1947. Currently, the site of the Kearsarge Telephone Building. Around 1780, Samuel Greenleaf built this store (no longer in existence) at the Crossroads, northeast corner on what is now Route 4 near the telephone building.
Shortly after constructing the store, Mr. Greenleaf constructed the house, which currently sits on the corner. Please see details and photos below.
Hatters
Caleb Morse
Thomas R. Greenleaf Hat Factory initially – right off the Crossroads on Rte 4 N/E, Likely initially part of the “Greenleaf” complex of varying industries over time. 1834 moved to Old Coach Road near the Pettengill House w corner of Old Coach and Rte 127.
Potash Factory
According to the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn, Andrew Bowers had the first Potash manufacturing project in Salisbury, possibly near his house briefly, but for certain it existed in a location near Bog Road & Rte 127 across the road from Academy Hall, described as a “large potash” manufactory by John Dearborn. It was later sold to John White.
Abt 1861 T.D.Little Bull Rack Factory behind Pettengill House, near the corner of Old Coach Road, located at the SW corner of Rte 127 and Old Coach Rd. The shop was located just west of the house. The steam-run mill existed here for energy needs.
1900s Cement Block Workshop Workshop before the 1940s on Little property behind Pettengill House, Well-sourced Steam Shingle Mill run by Peter Bill, same area> p. 15 They Said It In Salisbury by Paul S. Shaw
1900s Cider Mill, In Everett Renfew’s on Old Coach Road.
Flanders Tinsmith Shop
Located just off house #1 – right off the Crossroads on Rte 4 N/E, South Road Village.
Harness and Saddle Shop
Townsend’s Harness & Saddle Shop – right off the Crossroads on Rte 4 N/E, South Road Village
Shoemaker
Eliphalet Little was a shoemaker residing between 1831-1896 in a small house opposite where Whittemore joins Rte 4. Presumably, he worked from his home. Please see the photo of the house below.
Stores
There were quite a few stores in the early years, constantly changing hands, and it is a bit of a tangle to decipher. The following is deduced from the History of Salisbury by John Dearborn, dated 1890.
An examination of old town tax records would provide data how how long some of these stores functioned.
Before 1789, Major Stephen Bohonon’s Store– First store in Salisbury.
This store was located at his home, which is now on Route 4 south of the Crossroads. Near the current Crossroads Store. He kept a small stock of goods in one of the front rooms. He sold it to Andrew Bowers, who moved the house back, making an ell to the present home, which he built around 1806.
This was an impressive home, which later became the Parsonage and was destroyed in the fire of 1895.
1785-1808 Nathaniel Noyes Store, the second store in town, was located between houses #3 & #4 from the Crossroads of Rte 4 & Rte 127 N/E side. It was removed to a site near the Israel Kelly House (D. Bartlett House) and occupied first as a store, then as a barn.
1789, Andrew Bowers built his home at the crossroads and ran a small store by 1793-?. He died in 1833.
Previous to 1794, Greenleaf’s Store was built north side of Route 127 near Crossroads, nestled between the corner colonial and the Congregational Church at the junction of Route 127 & Rte 4. 1906-1934 Hills Store. 1934-1940 Margaret Adams Gerry’s Red Tea House. Building removed abt 1969 by owner Ward Knight. This home had a second attached structure that was also commercial. Please see details and photos below.
Greenough Store built abt 1850, purchased by C.E. Foote & CO., destroyed by fire in 1894. Rebuilt the Southside of Rte 127 at the current Crossroads Store. Served as a Post office for many years. Please see details and photos below.
Between 1930-1948, Peter Bill’s Ice Cream Stand, Pettengill House, W corner of Old Coach and Rte 127.
1948-1958? Same location as above: Rene Beaudoin Store, Pettengill House, W corner of Old Coach and Rte 127. From his home for twenty years before the mid-1960s, Rene’s store sold groceries, some fruit, and medicine over the counter. In the mid-1960s, Route 4 was extended straight through the farmland of Rene Beaudoin, making Route 4 a straight road through the Crossroads.
In the mid-1960s, Rene’s Market operated a grocery on the west side of Route 4 just south of the Crossroads. It can be seen in the aerial photo below. Please see the photos below.
See the Grange, see Academy Hall Building for more on the Grange
Post Office
South Road Post Office, possibly in at least 3 separate locations over time.
The first location was in the now Walker house, just south of the Congregational Church. Built 1791, Burned 1815, Rebuilt 1816-1817. The occupant, the Honorable T.W. Thompson of Newburyport, MA, was the first postmaster. He occupied the house from 1798-1803.
Please see the photo below.
Telephone Company Operations
Sometime in 1898, a group of men in town got together and formed a board of directors to start the Kearsarge Tel. Co.. South Road Village was the hub for phone service at the time and today as well.. For more information: Telecommunications
Filling Station
Crossroads Area Major Fires
1882 MAJOR FIRE Please see the photo below for an image of the crossroads before the fire and what was lost.
May 18, 1894, FIRE: Four major Historic structures were destroyed. Located at the current southside junction, Rte 4 and Rte 127, West to East:
#1) The Parsonage (Andrew Bowers) location: under the current Route 4. Destroyed in full.
#2) Grand Army Hall, Fire started roof, next. Two-story. First store in the village and perhaps town: First floor with small stock. Second story: Dancehall. Destroyed in full. GAR Charter (Pingree Post 84)was disbanded in 1896.
#3) Greenough Store, see below. Destroyed in full.
#4) Kearsarge Cottage Lodging was the largest dwelling house at the time and was run by Mrs. Chapman as a summer boarding home. Owned by Amos Chapman. Destroyed in full.
Historic Photos
Nickname: “The Crank”
Before 1965, the Fourth New Hampshire Turnpike (Route 4), a major north/south roadway from earliest times, came up through Salisbury along the Old Coach Road, in Salisbury took a left turn at Academy Hall joining the South Range Road (Route 127) went past the Church and first house and then right northbound to Andover. It was nicknamed “The Crank” because of the two peculiar angular turns. “The Crank” before the fire of 1882
In the image below, the large building at the intersection was a tavern operated by Lt. Benjamin Pettingill, Lyman Hawley, and others. It was then transformed into a Temperance House and was well known as such. A fire destroyed it on July 15, 1882, at which time it had been known as Elm House. The building that now occupies that north-west corner was moved from Mutton Road. Note the curve of the road to head north, clipping a large part of the existing home’s lot on the corner. It appears the hitching posts are still in place today. There was a grassy triangle with a large flagpole. The road went southwesterly (Mutton Rd.), westerly to Webster and Warner, northernly to Andover, and easterly to Franklin. It did not go south to Boscawen, as there were structures there pre-fire and no road. Route 4 was created in the late 1960s. The road that went south was Old Stagecoach.
After the Fire of 1895
The transformation of Greenough’s Store, destroyed by fire, was reconstructed and is now the Crossroads Country Store.
Greenleaf’s Store was built in 1780, and the residence.
Around 1780, Samuel Greenleaf built a store (no longer in existence) at the Crossroads next to house #1 off the northeast corner of Rte 4 and Rte 127. It became the Hill Store and Red Tea House. Shortly after constructing the store, Mr. Greenleaf constructed the house, which currently sits on the corner. It is shown in this photo with a federal roof, which was replaced after 1937. It is difficult to sort out, but there were several enterprises at this site right around the corner on Rte 4 and perhaps in the attached barn. It was at one time home to the John White Store, then the Allen Store, then the J.H. Clement Shoe factory in 1858. It became a glove factory and also a store run by John Huntoon at some point. This building (left in the photo) burned ca 1947. Just passed this building to the left was the Flanders Tim Shop.
Telephone
Greenleafs Store/Hills Store/Red Tea House
Excerpt from The History of Salisbury, NH, by John J Dearborn, 1890, p 347:
Four images of the store from Salisbury Lost by Paul S. Shaw, M.D., 1995
The last use of the “Red Tea House” was Summerstuff.
The following excerpts are from recent communications with Ellen McElvoy previous owners of the home and store, which is no longer in existence:
The Red Tea House, by the time we lived there, had not been used for many years, not much more than 10 feet from the house. We cleaned up a bunch of junk, trash, etc., and got the electricity working to run Summerstuff Learning Center during the summer of 1970.
It was a bit like a day camp. I had just earned my M.Ed. degree and was preparing to teach first and second grades in the fall. I got this crazy idea to run this program. In addition to taking classes, I had been doing some teaching at the U, and I recruited a young couple (for $10 a week each, plus room and board) and Sue Rineer from Boscawen to help out. The kids were mostly elementary age. A handful were younger, and sometimes some slightly older ones stopped by to play basketball. There was no registration, no insurance, so nothing…just books, toys, some crafts–a semi-organized way to spend the morning. Parents would drop kids off… it was a simpler time!
A video taken that summer shows the children hard at play under the guidance of their caretakers. It may be the last image of the building in existence. Ellen generously left a copy of the video at the Salisbury Free Library for all to enjoy.
Aerial of the crossroads, late 1960s, showing Rene’s Market, Route 4, and Red Tea House, building next to the Church.
Masonic Samaritan Lodge No 36 of Salisbury (Charter 1821-1840)
Location: Before the 1930s (fell in). Warner Road (rte 127), north side, just off the crossroads where Old Road “Lover’s Lane” (more or less the old extension of Whittemore) connects. The west boundary is a lane with closed walls.
Home of Dr John Proctor, abt 1820-1831, whose wife is buried on this site. Sold to Eliphalet Little, shoemaker, who resided there 1831-1896. Sold to Nellie Dearborn in 1896, and barn contained a cider mill, horsepower, and shafting.
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