December 2018, which natural disaster has not occurred to any significant degree in recorded time in Salisbury, New Hampshire?:
a) Severe flooding
b) TornadoIn In
c) Earthquake 5.0 or over
d) Forest wildfire
e) Hurricane
f) Landslide
g) Drought
h) 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 wildfires. 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 welcome!
For more details, Wicked Weather, Natural Disasters & Events
November 2018, there was once a simple ten-pin 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.
October 2018, 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 was called the Grand Union Flag, and though baffling with its motifs, it really did fly during our Revolutionary War era.
For more details, see Historical Flag Project.
September 2018, what were the original 13 colonies?
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 landholder.
Massachusetts Bay (1630) – Founded by Puritans looking for religious freedom.
Maryland (1633) – Founded by George and Cecil Calvert as a 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. The 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, why are there Rattlesnakes on some of our Historical flags?
Answer, “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, why are there Pine trees on some of our Historical flags?
The answer depends on which historian you ask.
Here are two explanations: 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”. For more details, in the Flag of New England
David Martucci is a flag historian who has done extensive research as well and connects the Pine Tree symbol originally to the Native Americans.
For more details, Historical Flags Project
June 2018, 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 States 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 losses, 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 details, Historical Flags Project
May 2018, 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?
Answer: West Salisbury, also once referred to as “Mill Village”
For more details, West Salisbury
April 2018, 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 then.
February and March 2018, where did Daniel Webster study? Where was Daniel Webster married? Where did Daniel Webster worship? Where did Daniel Webster teach?
For details, Daniel Webster in Salisbury
January 2018, Daniel Webster was born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, on January 18, 1782. So, why is his birthplace located in Franklin, New Hampshire?
Answer: In 1828, the town of Franklin was incorporated, and from then on, that part of Salisbury was part of Franklin.
December 2017, 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?
Answer: They were “Millerites”.
Millerites were disciples of William Miller. Miller, a farmer from New York, claimed to have discovered when Jesus Christ would return to Earth as stated in the Bible. Miller reached this belief in the 1820s but did not begin to share it with other people until the 1830s. By the early 1840s, approximately one million people had attended camp meetings and heard Miller’s message. Perhaps ten percent of those people believed Miller.
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, 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 on the top of Searle’s Hill near the original location of the Meeting House (Congregational Church). It was constructed of logs and was 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 that 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 its 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 schoolhouses. Please visit the following page on our website:
For more details Searle’s Hill
October 2017, on Sept 6th, 1881, a strange phenomenon 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 a 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.
For more details, Wicked Weather, Natural Disasters & Events
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 that 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.
For more details, Old Home Day
JULY 2017, 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, a 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 sight from below, looking upwards as well.
Answer: Searle’s Hill
June 2017, 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 is in an area of our town that 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 1940s. Please hit the link for a more in-depth description and images.
May 2017, Why does the rattlesnake appear on some flags, and why are the British Union Jack and the Continental stripes together on a flag?
Answer:
-
- 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 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 the colony of Georgia; for some reason, are not included. New England is one segment. Other newspapers took up the snake theme.
- The image was again 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 details on Rattlesnakes, the Grand Union Continental Flag, and the story behind the other Historic Flags flying in Salisbury during the season, see our Flag Project.
April 2017: 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.
For more details, Wicked Weather, Natural Disasters & Events
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.
For more details, The Power of Water
Curious about our town mills and past commercial ventures by our enterprising past residents? For more details, see Commerce and Industries.
March 2017, 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 fell into a category known 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 before 1660 was mostly taken from other British provincial peoples – the Irish, Scots, and Welsh. -From the scholarly work of historian David Smith. For more details, in 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 1940s. The graves from that cemetery are located in their designated section in the Maplewood Cemetery complex on Route 4; however, there is no 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.
February 2017: 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 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, 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. People 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 the 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 had to install snow on the pathways of covered bridges so that travel would not be interrupted”.
For more details, Wicked Weather, Natural Disasters & Events
December 2016, 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 details, Christmas in Puritan New England
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 large, wide fundraising venture was underway. For more information, showing the original poster and information on the wonderful town-wide effort.
For more details, Decorating our Town for Christmas
November 2016, the 1940s question #1: What do ladies in West Salisbury and knitting mittens have to do with Hitler?
Answer #1: In 1940, Mrs. Latham started a knitting circle in a storefront in New York City. Knitted goods, socks, mittens, gloves, hats, sweaters, and scarves were made and shipped to Great Britain, where the people were suffering greatly from the bombing raids of Adolf Hitler. Her organization grew and was called Bundles for Britain and had 975 branches, and almost a million contributors. Here in West Salisbury, there was a knitting circle as well of local women who contributed their time and talents to knit for the besieged people of England. Among them was a Mrs. Gerald Lively whose sister, Miss Ada B.Teetgen, was a “fire spotter” in Kent, England. Miss Teetgen’s task was to watch for invading enemy planes dropping fire bombs on England. She was a civilian volunteer, as were many, trying to save her country from Adolf Hitler.
Her most amazing letter is available to read on our website: England Is Grateful.
Question #2: The school children attending Salisbury’s little school house at the Heights were sent into Salisbury’s fields to collect Milkweed pods during WW2. Why was that?
Answer #2: A letter in the Salisbury Historical Society’s archives by Ed Coyne sparked interest in the Milkweed story. During WW2, the Japanese cut off supply routes to the Dutch West Indies. A main export from this area to the United States was Kapok floss made from the Kapok tree’s seed fluff. It was a favored ingredient in lifejacket stuffing and urgently needed to save the lives of American sailors during the war. As a substitute, the Navy turned to Milkweed silk to stuff life jackets. Milkweed strands are hollow and coated with a waterproof, waxlike substance. The government encouraged farmers to plant Milkweed. Children nationwide were often paid to fill onion bags or burlap sacks with pods collected from roadsides and fields at 20 cents a sack. A resident recalled recently how, during his childhood around the late 1950’s the sky would be filled with butterflies attracted to a particular remaining milkweed field on Whittemore Road, Salisbury.
An excerpt from Ed Coyne’s writings about Milkweed collection Edward Coyne, Milkweed
For more details, Recollecting Nemasket: “Milkweed Pods for War”, 1944