New Hampshire

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.

Osborne Memorial Hall // 1920

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Weare is the largest town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire by land area. As a result, the town’s villages historically were fairly isolated (especially before the arrival of the automobile). Social halls were important gathering places for some of these rural communities, allowing for events and celebrations to be held in a designated location. Before 1920, South Weare only had a Union Church which could meet this demand. In her will, Nellie Osborne donated funds in the memory of her husband Wellman Osborne, who grew up in Weare, to erect a social hall there. South Weare residents established the South Weare Improvement Society to make use of the money and oversee construction of the Memorial Hall. The Arts and Crafts style community building with its pyramidally roof opened in 1921. After numerous decades of deferred maintenance and dwindling use of the facilities, Osborne Hall was in decline and danger of demolition. Luckily, new members banded together and funded a restoration and modernization of the building. Here’s to another 100 years!

Clinton Grove Academy // 1874

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Clinton Grove Academy of Weare, New Hampshire was the first Quaker seminary in the state when it was founded in 1834 by Moses Cartland (1805–1863). Moses Cartland was a Quaker abolitionist who served as the first Principal of the school and for fourteen years after. He later would move to Lee, NH, and aided those who escaped slavery in the south, sheltering them and assisting them on their way north to Canada. The original Academy here served as a private high school and included a classroom building, boarding house, barn and sheds. Students came from as far away as Ontario, Nova Scotia, Minnesota and Texas to study here under Mr. Cartland. In 1872, the Academy complex burned. It was quickly rebuilt as one structure here, in 1874. This building served as a district school until the 1930s. Today, it looks like the building is largely vacant, anyone know what its purpose is?

Weare Town House // 1837

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Weare, New Hampshire has a pretty cool history. Located at the northern edge of Hillsborough County, the land presently known as Weare was granted to veterans of the Canadian wars in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher, who named it “Beverly-Canada” after many of the veteran’s hometown, Beverly, Massachusetts. After various disputes over the settlement and naming of the town, it became known as “Weare’s Town” before being incorporated by Governor Benning Wentworth in 1764 as Weare, after Meshech Weare, who served as the town’s first clerk and later went on to become New Hampshire’s first Governor. The town grew slowly during the 18th and 19th centuries around five major villages, with farmland and forests connecting them. Near the geographic center of town, this Town House was built in 1837 to be a government and religious center of the town. Originally, town meetings were held on the first floor and the Universalist Church met on the second floor and the local high school was installed on the second floor in 1919. The building remains the town offices with event space for rent inside today. The building is a great example of a vernacular Greek/Gothic Revival town house of the period with a two-stage tower with pinnacles at the corners of each stage and a louvered belfry at the bell.

Samuel Dearborn House // 1886

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Queen Anne perfection! The Samuel Dearborn House sits at the beginning of Concord Avenue in Nashua, New Hampshire and is among the city’s finest examples of the great architectural style. Samuel Gerrish Dearborn was born in Northfield, New Hampshire, August 10, 1827. His father was an industrious farmer and allowed Samuel to be educated at Sanbornton Academy and the New Hampshire Conference Seminary. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1849 and began practicing medicine in various New Hampshire towns. He served as a surgeon during the Civil War and after, settled in Nashua, remaining a prominent doctor. He and his family were avid travelers and had trips to the Pacific northwest and Mexico. He had this stately Queen Anne style residence built in 1886 which exhibits all the hallmarks of the style. Varied materials and siding types, asymmetrical plan, ornate turned columned porch, gables with detailed shingling, and complex roofline are all so eye-catching.