New Hampshire

Effingham Academy // 1819

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The small town of Effingham, New Hampshire, is the home to the state’s first Normal School. This building was originally constructed in 1819 as a vernacular, Federal period academy for the youth in the rural town of Effingham on land formerly owned by wealthy resident Isaac Lord. A normal school for the training of teachers was established on the school building’s second floor in 1830 with James W. Bradbury, a Bowdoin College graduate, to head it. Bradbury, later a United States Senator, took the position only on condition that it should be for the instruction and training of teachers, a novel idea at the time. The school, like many small academy buildings of the period, eventually closed. The building is now managed by the Effingham Historical Society.

Old Effingham Meetinghouse // c.1800

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The location of the Effingham meetinghouse in New Hampshire was a controversial question in the 1790’s, with the villages of Lord’s Hill and Drake’s Corner both vying for the town’s most important public building. After several votes and repeals of votes, the Town’s voters in 1798, chose a committee of hopefully disinterested men from other towns and instructed them to settle on the location. The committee recommended Lord’s Hill, and in June, the Town voted to accept that location. The contract for the meetinghouse was awarded to Isaac Lord, a local landowner and operator of a tavern and store, who promptly erected the building the same year. In its original form, the building had the traditional meetinghouse plan, with its main entry in the long southeast side and a belfry at the northeast end. In 1845, the meetinghouse, by then the property of the Congregational Church, was thoroughly remodeled in the Greek Revival style, what we see preserved today.

Lord’s Tavern // c.1792

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Isaac Lord (1772-1838), the namesake of Lord’s Hill, came to Effingham, New Hampshire by 1791. An enterprising man, he was the most important figure in the village’s early history and in its architectural development. By 1792, Lord opened Effingham’s first store on the Hill, and soon thereafter began building a house that also served as the local tavern, this Federal style structure. As Lord prospered as a merchant and innkeeper, he enlarged the Tavern with a large ell connecting the main block to the 3-story barn. The fine Federal tavern was embellished with a vestibule and a triple window. The high quality of the Tavern foretold the character and scale of Isaac Lord’s later buildings nearby. The Tavern stayed in the extended family until 1903. Throughout the 20th century, the property was used as an inn and restaurant, including a stint as a dance hall. By the 21st century, though, deferred maintenance and successive attempts to fix the building ended in mortgage sales, foreclosure, and most recently, a tax deed, the the Town of Effingham recently acquired the property with the aim to restore the significant building. It was sold to a private owner in May 2024 and awaits its future. The Lord’s Tavern was listed in the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s ‘Seven to Save’, to advocate for its preservation and funding.

New England Masonic Charitable Institute // 1858

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The New England Masonic Charitable Institute building is located in Center Effingham, New Hampshire, and is among the rural town’s most impressive structures. The structure was built in 1858 by the Charter Oak Lodge No. 58 of Free and Accepted Masons as a school to educate orphans of Masonic members, but they also admitted local students. It is the only known school building purposely constructed by Masons in the United States. Classes were conducted from 1861 to roughly 1882 with students boarding with local families. The impressive Italianate style building is dominated by a six-story bell tower supporting an octagonal cupola, and exhibits many architectural details including the corner quoins, paired eave brackets, and dentilled cornice. Charter Oak Lodge No. 58 sold the building to the Town of Effingham in 1891 for one dollar but retained rights to the second floor temple room in perpetuity. The walls and ceilings of the Lodge’s temple space are covered with trompe l’oeil murals attributed to Massachusetts painter Philip A. Butler. Images of classic sculptures, architectural details and Masonic symbols, including the All-Seeing Eye, are incorporated into the paintings. Heavily water-damaged in the late 1980s, they have since been restored. The building remains occupied by the Effingham Public Library, what a library building for a town of just 1,700 residents!

Dearborn-Keay House // c.1772

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The town of Effingham, New Hampshire, was settled by members of the Leavitt family of Hampton, New Hampshire, led by Captain John Leavitt. From them the settlement first took the name “Leavitt’s Town”. In 1749, the land here was officially granted by Governor Benning Wentworth, and he renamed it “Effingham” for the Howard family, who were Earls of Effingham in England and who were related to the Wentworths by marriage. The town was incorporated in 1778, six years after this house was built. This is the Dearborn-Keay House, a 1772 Colonial home in Effingham, built by Benjamin Dearborn, who was an early settler of the area from Hampton, New Hampshire. The homestead was enlarged by his nephew Asahel Dearborn in the early 1790s, giving the home its present appearance. After later ownership in the Dearborn Family, the property was purchased by Cyrus Keay, who would die in the home in 1894. The property remained in the ownership of the Keay family for many years more.

Sumner Stanley House // c.1850

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One of the larger homes in Weare, New Hampshire is this sprawling mid-19th century residence, seemingly built around 1850 for Sumner Stanley and his wife, Ruth. Stanley and Ruth (née Dow) acquired land from Ruth’s family and they built their home here. By 1856, Stanley sold a small piece of land to town just to the east of his house for the construction of the North Weare Schoolhouse. The Italianate style house with its Stick style attached barn structure have some amazing detailing!

North Weare Schoolhouse // 1856

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The Town of Weare, New Hampshire was first divided into thirteen school districts in 1805 as a result of a state law to divide each town into school districts to service all students equally. Over the years the number of school districts fluctuated and were periodically redefined based on population distribution and class sizes. The North Weare Schoolhouse was built in 1856 and was operated as a one-room school until 1952 when a consolidated school was built in town. Architecturally, the building blends multiple styles, most notably the Greek Revival and Italianate styles. The property was later occupied as a Grange Hall with a 1960s addition to the rear. It was purchased in 1985 by new owners who had spent years restoring the building as a residence before they sold it more recently. Today, the former schoolhouse has modern additions and windows, but maintains its charm and uniqueness.

Amos Chase House and Mill // 1836

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The Amos Chase House and Mill are located in Weare, New Hampshire, on the banks of the Piscataquog River. The house is oriented facing the road, while the mill is behind it, on the bank of the river. The mill is the only surviving 19th-century mill building in Weare. The house was built about 1836 by Amos Chase, as was a mill. That mill burned in 1844; the present mill was built by Chase as a replacement a few years later. This mill was the only one in the town to survive the New England Hurricane of 1938, although its waterwheel was washed away. Amos Chase was a tool manufacturer and one of several members of a locally prominent family operating small mills in the town. His son later used the mill in the manufacture of baskets. The large Greek Revival style home has all the hallmarks of the style, from the pediment facing the street, to the pilasters at the entrance and corners.

Elijah Purington Homestead // 1768

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One of the earlier settlers to Weare, New Hampshire was Elijah Purington, who purchased a lot in the center of town in 1768 and built this large farmhouse for his family. Elijah was one of the first Quakers to move to Weare, and the next year, he was elected a selectman in town. The farm remained in the ownership of his descendants through the end of the 19th century. A trotting park was built on a piece of the property covering an earlier pond, which seems to have since been restored back to a pond. After Elijah Purington III died in 1890, the property was purchased by Oliver Dennett Sawyer, who operated it as the Apple Tree Inn until his death in 1921. It has remained a private home ever since.

Weare Public Library // 1926

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The Colonial Revival style Weare Public Library was built in 1926, being the second purpose-built library building for the town of Weare, New Hampshire. After the Neo-Classical style Stone Memorial Building was taken over as town offices following a fire of the old town hall, local resident Eben Paige saw the need for a new designated library building. Upon his death in 1923, he left his entire estate, over $30,000, to the town to build a new free library. The Boston architectural firm of Kreider and Peterson were selected to design the building, which is still in use today.

Stone Memorial Building // 1896

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Designed by New Hampshire architect William Butterfield in 1896, the Stone Memorial building in Central Weare is a significant example of a Neo-Classical style structure in a village setting. The building was constructed with money donated by Joseph Stone in honor of his father, Phineas J. Stone, who was born in Weare and moved to Charlestown, MA, later serving as its seventh Mayor. The building would “provide suitable room for a public town library” and a room for memorials to the Civil War soldiers who fought and died for the Union. When the town hall burned, offices there were relocated to this building. Eventually, the library and town offices left this small building, and it has since been home to the Weare Historical Society.

Hadley Homestead // c.1776

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George Hadley (1740-1823) moved to Weare, NH in 1775, buying lot sixty-one in town from the proprietors. Captain Hadley served in the French and Indian War and later in the Revolutionary War, though he was not so eager to serve again. He built his home soon after, living here with his family. The original Hadley Homestead would have been a more traditional Georgian farmhouse with large central chimney and minimal glass/windows. Sometime in the early 19th century – after his wife’s death in 1806 or after his own death in 1823 – the house was modernized in the Federal style. The stunning home has a fan light transom over the door, narrow corner pilasters and twin chimneys projecting through the roof. It sits next door to the South Weare Union Church.

South Weare Union Church // 1875

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In 1874, the Congregationalist citizens at South Weare, New Hampshire, decided to tear down their old church as it was in very poor condition and build a new one. The issue was that the Universalists owned a share of the old church, so, they decided to build a Union Church together. They broke ground in 1875 and it was completed months later in January 1876. The construction and furnishings were a group effort. The interior was furnished with circular ash pews, trimmed with black walnut. Osgood Fifield of Boston, a native of Weare, gave the beautiful pulpit; the Ladies Sewing Circle gave the carpet, assisted by the Universalists. The Victorian Gothic church building is impressive for such a small, rural congregation at the time. It has lancet windows, a circular rosette window in the gable end, and a steep gable roof capped by a towering belfry. The church even retains its historic horse sheds at the rear!

Bailey Farmhouse // c.1767

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One of the oldest homes in Weare, New Hampshire is this large, Georgian farmhouse apparently constructed around 1767 by Samuel Bailey. Samuel’s father, Ebenezer Bailey, had purchased a property called “Lot 54, Range 1” in Weare, New Hampshire, which he then divided among his sons, Daniel, Samuel and Ebenezer Jr. for their own settlement in about 1767. Samuel received this lot in South Weare, upon which, the twenty-two-year-old and his wife established a farm and a family of at least eight children. Samuel died in 1824 and the farm was inherited by his son, Amos Wood Bailey, who continued operations here. Today, the large five-bay Georgian farmhouse is connected to a massive barn. It is a really spectacular property.

Cyrus Hazen House // c.1850

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The backroads of New England always lead you to great discoveries! This time, driving around Weare, New Hampshire, I stumbled upon this large farmhouse on the side of the road. The home was owned by Cyrus Hazen by 1858 and due to its style, I would date it to be built in the 1850s. Cyrus Hazen married Louisa Bartlett (as her second marriage) in 1847 and they appear to have had this home built a few years later. The Hazen’s ran a farm from this home for decades. Sometime after the Civil War, the home would have gotten the full-length verandah (front porch) and a side tower, both Victorian-era additions. The home is now attached to the historic barn by an ell.