Peterborough in the Past

Peterborough in the Past

1737-1738 Investors from Concord, MA petition the Massachusetts Provincial Legislature for a land grant. This part of southern New Hampshire was part of the province of Massachusetts. 1739 Thomas Morison buys a lot and arrives to begin clearing land. He makes his campsite near the Contoocook at the spot that is now marked Settler s Rock. 1750s Settlers, most Scotch-Irish immigrants, buy lots and begin building homes and farms. 1761 The New Hampshire Provincial Legislature grants a charter to incorporate the Town of Peterborough.

Town inventory of 1780 Men over age 21 120 Male Slaves 1 Female Slaves 2 Orchard 14 acres Cultivated Land 300 acres Hay Fields 667 acres Pasture 500 acres Cunningham Pond

Life in Early Peterborough By the 1790s, Peterborough s population had grown to over 800 people living on 100 farms throughout town. Community life was centered around the farm, the church and the tavern. The meetinghouse and the tavern were on Old Street Road. Saw and grist mills were operating and the town had established four district schools for elementary education. The Davidson House, the first framed house in town. Torn down in the 1890s.

Farming in Early Peterborough Products Beef Swine Milk and Dairy Products Potatoes Pumpkins Raspberries Peas Beans Corn Apples Strawberries Land Use in 1796 Orchard 0% Pasture 9% Hay 4% Culivated 2% Wild 85%

Agriculture Growth & Decline Year # of Farms 1796 106 1830 140 1850 116 1900 57 1950 9 gradually farming became, in many cases, more of a specialty, than a way of life George Abbot Morison, History of Peterborough, NH, 1954

The growth of industry 1810-1860 The Bell Factory- Elm Street Cotton textiles Incorporated 1808 1817 First Looms Installed Burned 1922 South Village - Noone Mill Wool textiles Built 1813 Burned 1823 Rebuilt 1823, Overhauled in 1831 Production Discontinued 1980 West Peterborough- Union Manufacturing Cotton textiles Original Building Built 1824 Expansions in 1857, 1899 Burned 1964, Original building now home to Green Grocer Union Mill, West Peterborough

Phoenix Factory The Phoenix Factory- Grove and Main Street Cotton Textiles Founded 1820 Burned 1828 Rebuilt a larger brick factory Demolished 1922 North Village- North Cotton Factory & Wilder Factory Cotton Textiles, later thermometers and barometers North Cotton Factory incorporated 1813 Factory Building purchased by Charles Wilder 1860 Building demolished in 1930s Wilder Factory, North Peterborough

1820 Wool textiles (1 mill) Cotton textiles (4 mills) Grist Mills Saw Mills Paper making Industries 1820-1880 1850 Wool textiles (1 mill) Cotton textiles (4 mills) Grist Mills Saw Mills Shoe peg manufacturing Tanneries (4) Tinware & Stoves (2) Furniture Machine parts & Iron castings Printing Granite quarrying Marble & Granite Monuments 1880 Wool textiles (1 mill) Cotton textiles (2 mills) Grist Mills Saw Mills Machine parts & Iron castings Printing Granite quarrying Marble & Granite Monuments Thermometers & Barometers Baskets Paper making Paper pulp Piano stools Shoes Wheelwright & Carriage Maker

Industries 1900-1985 1900 Wool textiles (1 mill) Cotton textiles (2 mills) Grist Mills Saw Mills Machine parts & Iron castings Printing Granite quarrying Marble & Granite Monuments Thermometers & Barometers Baskets Pianos Wheelwright & Carriage Maker American Guernsey Cattle Club 1926 Wool textiles (2 mill) Cotton textiles (2 mills) Grist Mill Saw Mills Machine parts & Iron castings Printing Marble & Granite Monuments Baskets American Guernsey Cattle Club 1961 Wool textiles (1 mill) Printing Marble & Granite Monuments Baskets American Guernsey Cattle Club Electronic components Fire extinguishers Ball bearings 1985 Printing (3) Marble & Granite Monuments Baskets Electronic components Ball bearings Publishers (7) Direct Mail List Broker Retail Warehouse/ Distribution (2) Computer accessories Tools/ Machine parts Cash registers

Education By 1824, the four district schools built in the 1790s were inadequate to meet the needs of the growing community. The town voted to build nine district schools educating students to the eighth grade. In 1836, a group of citizens formed the Peterborough Academy, a private academy for secondary school education that prepared students for college. The Academy became the first public high school in town in 1870. This district schoolhouse was located in Depot Square and gave School Street its name.

Central School, Vine Street In 1887, the town adopted a centralized system for the schools and built a new school on Vine Street housing grades 1-12. In 1927, the town built a new high school on High Street and the Central School housed grades 1-6. In 1955, the town created an addition to the high school building to house the elementary grades and renamed it Peterborough Consolidated School. The Central School building was torn down in 1958.

The Conval School District The Contoocook Valley School District formed July 1968 Contoocook Valley Regional High School opens September 1970 Christmas 1970 Consolidated School burns, elementary wing salvaged but no space for junior high ConVal district purchased Electropac plant and opens Peterborough Middle School, now South Meadow School Opening day at the new ConVal High School in 1970

transportation Wilton- Peterborough Road looking west, about 1910

Stage coach lines established in 1828 First railroad line opened in 1871 Daily passenger and freight service connecting town to Concord and Boston Last passenger train left town on March 7, 1953 Freight service ended in 1969 Noone Station in South Peterborough Peterborough Station in Depot Square

Town Roads Year Built Old Street Road 1760 Old Dublin Road 1761 Sand Hill Road 1762 Windy Row 1764 Old Jaffrey Road 1768 High Street 1768 Old Greenfield Rd 1760, 1773 Middle Hancock Rd 1768, 1770 Hancock Rd (Rte 202) 1768, 1811 Grove Street 1826 Concord Street 1795, 1835 Main Street 1760, 1834 Pine Street 1760, 1842 Wilton Road 1811

Grove Street, September 1886

Grove Street, c. 1960

Main Street, 1860

Main Street, 1973

Route 101 Downtown Peterborough bypass constructed in 1959 Route 202 North Built in two phases in 1969 and 1975 along the Hancock Road established in the 19 th century Route 202 South From 1952-59, the state made improvements and straightened sections of the 19 th century Jaffrey Road Intersection of Routes 101 and 202 about 1980

Community Life View from East Hill circa 1900

Today s community life has its roots in the 19 th and early 20 th centuries Main Street Bridge in the 1830s

Peterborough Town Library founded 1833 Peterborough Lyceum 1828-1856 The Peterborough Transcript 1849 Putnam Park 1862 Peterborough Grange 1874 Peterborough Woman s Club 1897 Peterborough Golf Club 1901 (Monadnock Country Club) Peterborough Historical Society 1902 (Monadnock Center for History and Culture)

Board of Trade 1904 (precursor of the Chamber of Commerce) Handicraft Workers Society 1904-c.1930 MacDowell Colony 1907 Scott-Farrar Home 1909 Boy Scouts 1911 Adams Playground 1915 Girl Scouts 1919 Mariarden Theatre-in-the-Woods 1919-1934 Community Groups posed in front of the new Town House on Armistice Day, November 1918

Peterborough Hospital 1923 (Monadnock Community Hospital) Peterborough Rotary Club 1925 Peterborough Players 1933 Thornton Wilder and cast members consult the script of Our Town at the Peterborough Players

Population growth Year 1767 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 Year 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Population 443 861 1,333 1,537 1,500 1,983 2,163 2,222 2,265 2,236 2,206 2,507 Population 2,527 2,277 2,615 2,521 2,470 2,556 2,963 3,807 4,895 5,239 5,883 6,284

What is your vision for Peterborough s future? Postcard published in 1910