NEWS
AND NOTES 2014
ANNUAL
MEETING - November 16, 2014
The
Epsom Historical Association held its annual
member meeting at the Epsom Library, Sunday,
November 16 at 2 p.m. At the meeting elections
were held for the officers for the next
two years with T. J. Rand, president; Harvey
Harkness, vice president; Betsy Bosiak,
secretary; and Penny Graham, treasure. The
program was 'Researching and Navigating
the EpsomHistory.com website.' The site
was established in 1998 and features thousands
of images and historical information. The
genealogy of the towns early settlers, vital
records and maps are just part of the sites
offerings. Links on the site are available
for those researching their family history
and to other area town sites. Also included
is information and photos on all the known
cemeteries, including inscriptions and photos
of gravestones prior to 1940. The Epsom
Daily Blog and our facebook page were also
be discussed. Several followed along with
wireless laptops which that were able to
access the site during the discussion. The
program was open to the public and refreshments
were served .Click
for photos
NEW
BOOK - New Orchard Road
George
H. Yeaton's New Orchard Road is the
sixth book highlighting the history of various
parts of Epsom. George Hill Yeaton grew
up on New Orchard Road and later in life
put to paper many stories he remembered
being told while growing up. He also recorded
his memories of the many families that inhabited
the road, which are the basis for this history
of New Orchard Road. Also included is an
article he composed about life growing up
on the family farm, and a history of winter
roads. Includes familes from the 1858 and
1892 county maps with photos from the Historical
Associations collection. 45 photos, 80 pages.
PREVIEW
or ORDER
NEW
BOOK - The Mountain District
The
Epsom Historical Association is proud to
announce the fifth book in a series about
various parts of Epsom. 'The Mountain District,
Mountain Road and New Portsmouth' follows
the publications 'Black Hall Road', 'Gossville
and Goboro Road,' 'New Rye's Early History,'
and 'Slab City.' As with all books in the
series, they highlight old photos from the
Epsom Historical Associations files, and
by deed research and genealogy, traces the
various families that settled in Epsom.
The new book starts at the entrance to the
Mountain Road from Center Hill and makes
its way to an older part of town that was
called New Portsmouth, continuing down to
the old Red Schoolhouse and the border with
Allenstown. Already settled by the Revolution
were Ebenezer Brackett, Ebenezer Wallace,
Aaron Burbank, Nathaniel Payne, and Samuel
Moses. By the first census, they had been
joined by Joel Ames, Jonathan Bartlett,
Joseph Dennett, David Dickey, and Jethro
Libbey. The book is 97 pages and includes
85 photos and images. PREVIEW
or ORDER
PROGRAM
FEATURE - EPSOM'S EARLY HISTORY
Members
of the Epsom Historical Association met
at the home of Ed and Glenna Nutter on Sanborn
Hill Road on Sunday, September 14 at two
pm for a special program. On display were
some of the newer books on Epsom History
made available by the Association for individual
online ordering. Officers and members provided
a wide array of refreshments including apple
crisp and cider. The perfect weather made
for a great social gathering of over 50
attendees, the largest number of people
to gather for an EHA event in recent memory.
Three mini-bus tours were made of East Street,
stopping at the John McClary homestead for
a tour with current owner John Atwood. The
unannounced stop was enthusiastically received
and proved a highlight of the day. Thanks
to Ed and Glenna for hosting the event,
officer's Harvey Harkness, Betsy Bosiak
and Penny Graham, and other members for
making this such a great event. Click
for photos
EPSOM
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION AT OLD HOME DAY
The
Epsom Historical Association brought a display
to the town's Old Home Day on Saturday August
9th. The display included a running slideshow
of over 600 photos on a 32" display
in the gazebo along with a newly acquired
painting of the Short Falls Bridge and Grist
Mill. Also on display were the 15+ books
that have been created over the years on
various parts of town history. Thye hand
drawn maps of Lewis Hill were on display
with the county maps of 1858 and 1892. The
fundraiser was the selling of raffle tickets
with a drawing to be held September 14th.
Thanks to Nancy Claris and Penny Graham
for working the booth during the day.
2014
Ice Cream Social
The
Epsom Historical Association held its annual
Ice Cream Social on Sunday, July 13 at 2:00
pm. It was held at the old Yeaton Tavern,
the home of Charlie Yeaton, 105 North Road
in Epsom. The program included a presentation
on antique tools by Charlie Yeaton who operates
the Betty House Antiques in the out buildings
of the old tavern. The program was held
inside with about 40 people in attendace.
Future plans of the Historical Association
were announced by Vice President Harvey
Harkness. Following the presentation an
ice cream buffet was served. The current
books on Epsom History were dislayed. Thanks
to the officers of the Association, and
in particular Charlie Yeaton and Nancy Claris
for hosting the event.
3rd
Publication of 2014 - "Slab City"
now available
Slab
City lies just below Center Hill and north
of the Little Suncook River. Epsom by 1823
has 8 grist mills, 10 saw mills, 3 carding
machines, three clothier's shops and four
bark mills, many of which were on the Little
Suncook River. With the first NH Turnpike
running through Epsom and following the
river, the area was prime real estate from
1800 to the Civil War. Mills were already
established by 1750 and powered the early
settlements and home lots on Center Hill.
'Slab City' presents many of the photos
from the Epsom Historical Association, along
with descriptions of the families who settled
and ran the area businesses. 93 photos -
100 pages.PREVIEW
BOOK
New
Publication - "New Rye's Early History"
now available
New
Rye's Early History, the family homes and
settlements to 1892, includes the original
owners and proprietors and traces the families
and home owners. Based on the property owners
as shown on the town and county map of 1892,
the genealogy of the familes and progression
of owners are given.As is the other books
in the series, nearly 120 images are highlighted
from the Epsom Historical Association. Familiar
family names include Haynes, Dolbeer, Cass,
and Brown.There is also a brief account
of the ice cutting operation. The book is
dedicated to Charlie and Phil Yeaton. 120
pages PREVIEW
BOOK
New
Publication - "Gossville and Goboro
Road" now available
This
history of the village of Gossville and
Goboro Road is based primarily on two sources.
The first is the report of the 1991 Gossville
Historic District. The study included 39
primary contributing structures, one primary
site, 30 secondary contributing structures
and 21 non contributing structures. The
Gossville bounds start with the Bickford
homestead on the east end and following
west on Route 4 to the old Suncook Railroad
bed, then north to the Sherburne Road. The
second source are notes made by Benjamin
M. Towle in 1936 of his recollections of
the homes and families living on Goboro
Road. The two studies overlap, with Mr.
Towle's notes extending from the west end
of Gossville, up Goboro Road, to the Chichester
town line. Includes information on the early
history, families and residents. The book
contains over 130 images from the Epsom
Historical Associations archives. 134 pages.
click HERE
for preview.
News
& Notes 2013
*
* *
News
& Notes 2010
*
* *
News
& Notes 2009
*
* *
News
& Notes 2008
*
* *
News
& Notes 2007
*
* *
News
& Notes 2006
