Southern New Hampshire

Old New Ipswich Town Hall // 1817

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New Ipswich, New Hampshire, is a town that oozes New England charm! Winding back roads are lined with Colonial-era homes and buildings, lovingly maintained by stewards and neighbors to create the quintessential small town feeling. New Ipswich was granted in 1735 to 60 inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts, where the name is derived, by colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher and the General Court of Massachusetts. European settlement began here in 1738, when Abijah Foster arrived to the area with his wife and infant daughter. At the center of town, a new Town Hall was built in 1817 as a combination town hall and private academy with funds provided by the town government and by the trustees of New Ipswich Academy. The building was constructed under the direction of Deacon Nathaniel Gould, using materials salvaged from a disused meetinghouse of 1770. The arched gable window is reputed to have been taken from the meeting house, as are twisted balusters on the gallery stairway inside. As completed in 1817, the building had a full second floor which provided the academy with a lecture room, a small library, and a laboratory, but that was taken over by 1869 when the Town renovated the building, removing a tower and belfry, and occupied the second floor spaces. The building is still owned by the town, and is used occasionally for civic functions, with town offices in a mundane, newer building a short distance away.

Litchfield Community Presbyterian Church // 1844

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Litchfield, New Hampshire remained a rural agricultural town on the eastern banks of the Merrimack River from its founding by white settlers until after WWII when it rapidly became a bedroom community for nearby NH cities and Boston. The area’s Presbyterian residents needed a place to worship, separate from the more common congregationalists, and they built this Gothic and Greek Revival style church near the geographic center of town, a stone’s throw from the Merrimack River. The building features lancet windows, tracery, and a two-tiered belfry with classical pilasters and Gothic finials at the tower.

Harry Gregg House // c.1910

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Harry A. Gregg, was the son of David Gregg, a lumber dealer and wooden goods manufacturer who built a mansion in Wilton’s East Village. Harry followed in his father’s footsteps, running the day-to-day business out of their Nashua, NH offices. With a lot of spare money, Gregg purchased pastoral land in Wilton Center and built a summer residence which may have also served as a gentleman’s farm. The Arts and Crafts style home showcases the best in the style with rubblestone, shingles, organic forms and exposed rafters. The house is pretty perfect!

Always Ready Engine House // 1859

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Located in a triangular island at the corner of Main Street and Monument Square in the charming town of Hollis, NH, the Always Ready Engine House is a two-story clapboarded building with a lower level exposed on the east end due to the sloping site. The simple Greek Revival-style building is capped by a low-pitched gable roof and is outlined by simple pilaster cornerboards. The building was constructed in 1859 by the Town and furnished by the local fire company. Initially the building was kept for the exclusive use of the engine company but in 1862 the Soldiers’ Aid Society was granted permission to meet here. In 1877 the building was altered to accommodate the Town Hearse and in 1878 part of the basement was fitted as a local police lock-up and tramp shelter. The fire department finally vacated the structure in 1950 and the building served as the police station from 1971 to 1987. It was given to the Hollis Historical Society shortly after who hold documents, objects and photos which display the history of the town inside.