This now serene part of Salisbury, with its idyllic scenery, was once a bustling part of town. This part of town has seen 2 Blacksmith Shops, a general store with a post office, two schools over the years, about 5 mills (grist mills and saw mills), a swimming hole, had at least one lovely home in service as an Inn for tourists and summer boarders and as a boarding house for mill millworkers, was home to extraordinary cabinetmakers, has a large cemetery, small graveyard but never had a church.
Grist Mills
A series of water-powered mills existed, utilizing the power of the Blackwater River. From Salisbury Lost by Paul S. Shaw, MD, pg. 45, regarding the Grist Mill and Saw Mill located opposite the site of the old Dunlap Store, where West Salisbury Road connects with the Bay Road by the Blackwater River in West Salisbury
An excerpt from the good read Halfway Up the Hill by Paul J. Fenton Jr., regarding the tenpin alley in the old mill.
“The tenpin alley in the attic was a great rendezvous on stormy days, and many a hard-fought match was rolled there. The croquet balls would go rolling down the hemlock boards, bumpity bump, and strikes were scarce. The balls were rather light and would bounce off the pins frequently, but they served our purpose.”
In the 1800’s there were enough farmers growing grains to support a grist mill. Shaw’s Grist Mill closed in 1921, a few years before John Shaw died. In 1935, the dam washed out, and the mill collapsed.
From an interview with Paul Shaw, born in 1918 in Warner, and published in “They Said it in Salisbury” dated 1992. “My grandfather (John Shaw) operated a grist mill for many years in West Salisbury, and my father (Lewis Shaw) went into business with him. With the decline in farming in Salisbury and throughout New Hampshire, it was obvious that the mill could not support two families, so my dad moved to Warner, where he purchased another mill, large and powered by electricity. Warner was a larger town and served by the railroad. With less grain grown locally, it was necessary to buy grain from the west, store it, grind it, and mix it to serve local farmers with grain for their animals. The last of the operation of the Salisbury mill, grain came to the siding at the “switch” in Andover, near where the present State Highway Sheds are located, bagged and hauled by oxen or horse to the mill in West Salisbury to be ground and rebagged. This was a hard and time-consuming process, and no longer profitable by the 1900s. Closed in 1921, a few years before John Shaw died. The dam washed out, and the mill collapsed in 1935.
Double Bridges: In this area, there were twin bridges that went over the Blackwater River’s two channels. One flood destroyed them, and they were rebuilt, but were lost in the 1936 or 1939 hurricane.
Sawmills
“A series of mills utilized the water power near the site of the Pingree Bridge. Early mills were on both sides of the river, but in more recent times, Prince’s mill was located on the east side of the river. This was powered by a dam just below the bridge. It has been moved to another location in West Salisbury, where it operates with diesel power”. p 29. Salisbury Lost by Dr. Paul Shaw 1995
Understanding the mechanics of water-powered mills: The Power of Water
Inn & Boarding House & Residence
A large home built in 1813, near Pingree Bridge, became the inn “Riverside” for a time. Built in 1813 by the son of the famous cabinet maker, Samuel Dunlap, it remained in the hands of the Dunlap-Prince family for 110 years. “Riverside” became a popular spot for summer boarders. Later, mill workers boarded there.
West Salisbury Store & Post Office
Cyrus Gookin built the store and post office in 1858, running it alongside William Dunlap. Later, his son Frank took over the operation and managed it until he died in the 1920s.
According to Marion Childs Shaw in an interview with Dr. Paul Shaw dated 1988, in “They Said It In Salisbury” p. 254, she remembers.
“They sold yard goods, pickles out of barrels. They sold Tripe out barrels. They sold penny candy from the jar, and they had those big jars like they have now, with a round top and a little knob on the top, several rows of those, all penny candy. As you went in the door, the post office was on the right-hand side, and all the yard goods were on the left-hand side. Then you went into the back, and there were general groceries and what have you. They didn’t sell fresh meat. There used to be a truck, not a truck, a man with a horse and buggy that used to come around with meat. There was also a fish man that came around once a week and sold fish”. In addition, she describes a bakery cart that used to come around a couple of days a week, Pauline’s Bakery from Warner.
Dunlap Furniture
In 1797, Samuel Dunlap relocated from Henniker to West Salisbury with his family, including his 14-year-old son, Samuel, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became a renowned furniture maker. Over time, both Dunlaps owned several mills in the area. They lived in a house near Pingree Bridge on Mountain Road, the first on the right (west side), which has since been moved to New Boston.
To learn more about Dunlap furniture, the following book is suggested:
Schoolhouses
School #1, 1816 Mountain Road, is located across the Pingree Bridge.
School #2 operated from 1890 until mid-1926, when it closed and students were transferred to the school at Salisbury Heights. It was located near the bottom of Dunlap Road.
The school operated from 1890 until the mid-1920s, when it closed, and the students were transferred to the school in Salisbury.
The Blacksmith Shop on Bay Road possibly dates back to 1858 and remained in operation until the early 1920s. Beyond that, little information is available.
Mills or Pingry Cemetery
Across from the deep ravine carved by the Blackwater River lies a spacious and picturesque cemetery enclosed by metal fencing. It serves as the final resting place for both the early and more recent settlers of this area.
Peter’s Bridge
Built in 1883 by Plina A. Fellows for $584.39, using local laborers who worked off their taxes. Lewis A. Harlow, Covered Bridges Can Talk.
