Osborne Memorial Hall // 1920

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!