December, Was Christmas celebrated in the New England colonies in the early days?
Answer: No
For more details, Christmas in Puritan New England
November, What exactly did the Salisbury South Road Village settlement (Crossroads area) look like before the 1950s?
Answer: The answer depends on when, as the Crossroads area, also known in history as South Road Village, has had many different looks.
Before the Revolution, there was a small scattering of enterprises and about 5 or 6 homes, 2 inns, and lodging.
Between 1777 and the early 1900’s there was a potash factory, cider mill, cement block workshop, tinsmith, harness and saddle shop, blacksmith, Grange, Post Office, Masonic Hall, telephone company office in a home, Bull Rake factory, shoemaker, hatter, the Grand Army of the Republic Hall, a parsonage, lodgings, a glove factory, 3-4 merchandise stores over time and a filling station.
By the early 1900’s the population was seriously dwindling. In 1820, the population was 2,016, and by 1930 it was 350.
2 large fires in the late 1800s changed the junction forever, as well as the biggest change to traffic configuration. That occurred in the mid-1950s when a section of land was taken from the farmland of Rene Beaudoin for use as an extension of Rte 4.
For more details, South Road Village
October, Up until the latter 1950’s there was a turn in the road so sharp that on occasion, cars would slide right off the road. Where was this?
Answer: It was the junction of Rte 127 & Rte 4. Up until the mid-1950s’s according to a resident eye witness, on occasion a car would take the sharp turn and slide into the parking lot of the Crossroads Store due to bad weather, speed, or inattentiveness. This was remedied by the extension of Route 4 through the crossroad beginning about that time.
September, Are there any pre-Revolutionary War era houses left in Salisbury that are not in the style of what we commonly call “colonials”? (style; two-story with attic, front: center doorway, four lower windows, five upper windows).
Answer: Images can be found in Historic Salisbury Houses by Paul S Shaw.
- 1760: pgs 100-103 Chestnut Cottage-Stevens House, Loverin Hill Road, Center Rangeway, modified Cape style
- 1760: pgs 132-133 Samuel Judkins House, North Road near the Webster Birthplace, Cape style
August, Techniclly, what is a Colonial in New England architecture?
Answer: They are structures built during the colonizing period that bear stylistic similarities influenced by the country of origin of the colonists. A New England Colonial has English elements. There is some Dutch influence in NJ, NY, and PA. Note: structures can be termed “colonial” in style throughout the US if built by colonists before these dates:
Before 1819: 1819 Spain to the US, The Florida Purchase Treaty. Spain to the US. There are Spanish colonial structures in St Augustine. “Spanish Colonial” architecture.Before 1803: 1803 France to the US: 1803 The Louisiana Purchase. There are French Colonial houses in Missouri. “French Colonial” architecture. Before 1848: 1848 Treaty with Mexico/Spain that ceded California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona, Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Wyoming, and claims to Texas. The Palace of Governors, Santa Fe, built in 1601, “Spanish Southwest Colonial” style.
July, As part of our Historical Flags Project, we chose for the collection the blue flag with stars that is flying near the Congregational Church at the Crossroads in Salisbury. What is its significance, and why do we fly it?
Answer: It is the George Washington Commander-in-Chief Standard/Flag and was flown at Valley Forge and wherever he went.
We remember our soldiers. According to Dearborn’s History of Salisbury, the following Salisbury sons died at Valley Forge:
Ephraim Heath, Valley Forge camp, 1778, from exposure and sickness
Reuben Greeley, Valley Forge camp, 1778, from exposure and sickness
Philip Lufkin, Valley Forge camp, 1778, from exposure and sickness
William Bayley, Valley Forge camp, 1778, from exposure and sickness
For more details, The Historical Flag Project
June, A part of our Historical Flags Project is a flag with only 9 alternating white and red stripes and no stars.
What is its significance?
Answer: In 1765, James Otis, a distinguished Boston lawyer and orator, invited the 13 colonies to the Congress in New York to petition the King and parliament, “making note of their rights and declaring their protests against the Stamp Act”. Nine attended, including NH.
Aug 1765 “The Sons of Liberty” soon produced a flag and, as the story goes, hung it on the Liberty Tree in Boston high above the tree branches. A later version included all 13 states with the stripes horizontal.
May, Where were the old inns & taverns located in Salisbury?
Answer: We count 12 places plus 1 “almost”.
For more details: Taverns & Inns
April, Recently, there was a discussion online about how Sturbridge Village has on display the account book of William Cate of Salisbury, NH. Who was William Cate, what did he do, and where did he live?
Answer: William Cate was a Deacon of the Baptist Church and our town’s tailor with apprentices and lived in Salisbury Heights. He occupied the residence from 1795 to 1850.
In 1905, Henry Heath purchased the property and possibly converted a smaller building near the road into a filling station; however, we have no way of knowing when this smaller building was actually constructed and if it indeed was the Tailoring Shop of William Cate.
Location 624 Old Turnpike Road (Rte 4).
Photographs from Historic Salisbury Houses by Paul Shaw.
For more details, William Cate
March, There once was a covered bridge in Salisbury. Where was it?
Answer: The old covered bridge was in West Salisbury. Bay Road turns into West Salisbury Road near the Pingree Bridge, which goes up into Mountain Road. Going a little further on West Salisbury Road, one gets to the Blackwater River, crossing into the floodplain. The bridge was to the left of the new bridge.
February, Where was the Riverside Inn and sawmill across the road?
Answer: By the Blackwater River across from the Pingree Bridge in West Salisbury.
The large home was built in 1813 by John Dunlap, son of the famous cabinet maker Samuel Dunlap. It remained in the hands of the Dunlap and Prince families for 110 years. It became the ‘Riverside Inn” for a time. Riverside became a popular spot for summer boarders. Later, mill workers boarded there.
The sawmill was located across the road along the river and was built in 1905. It was moved to the foot of Sanborn Hill on Bay Road, where it ran under diesel by Ray Prince. It no longer exists.
For more details, West Salisbury or “Mill Village”
January, What 8 basic methods did those who came before use to put up food for the winter?
Answer:
#1- PICKLING: Anaerobic fermentation in brine or vinegar (acidic solution or pickle vinegar). Green Beans, Beets, Peas, Carrots, Peppers, Pears, Cucumbers, Eggs, Cabbage, Fish, etc
#2 FERMENTATION: The process of creating food or changing the properties of food using microorganisms. Cheese making, making vinegars, and brewing use microorganisms.
Cheese Making: On the first day of cheesemaking, lactose is fermented into lactic acid. By 1790, colonists were so prolific in cheese making that they were shipping wheels back to England. Wine, Beer, and Cider: starches and sugars react with microorganisms and produce alcoholic beverages, which can be stored.
#3- CANNING: Putting food in glass jars, sealed with cord and sealing wax, and placed in boiling water to disinfect.
#4- DRYING: Herbs, vegetables, fruits, and nuts were air dried in the sun. An Apple Evaporator existed near what is currently the Salisbury Town offices. Evaporators use heat to speed up drying.
#5- CURING: Meats & Fish. Curing preservation is through drying with salt over days, which by osmosis draws the moisture out, reducing microbes.
#6- SMOKING: Meats & Fish. Another type of air drying is by exposing food to smoke and heat from burning or smoldering materials. Some of the chemicals in wood smoke are natural preservatives as well.
#7- BURIAL IN COOL CELLARS Eggs: Preserving Eggs: Eggs, salt, lard, layers covered with straw to keep them from freezing, could protect preserved eggs for up to a year. Vegetables: Cool & damp storage for beets, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, and turnips. Corn & Grains: Dry bins, Fermented wines, and beverages.
#8- FREEZING: Root cellars or caves provided very cool places using ice blocks wrapped in hay, which kept ice cellars cool like a refrigerator.