Washington NH Common

Samuel Jones House and Leg Grave //

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Samuel Jones Jr. was born in Hillsboro in 1777. His family was among the first to settle in that town in the 1770s. Jones married Deborah Bradford in 1799, and the couple soon settled in Washington, New Hampshire that next year. Samuel ran a tavern out of the new family house which was built around that time. When he was 27 years old, Jones was helping a friend hoist and move a building on logs, when his leg became was caught and crushed by the building. His friends brought him to his house where he laid on a table awaiting a doctor. This occurred in the days prior to knowledge of anesthesia so his friends and neighbors treated him with whisky or rum. When the leg was removed they decided it should have a “proper burial” so it still rests with its marker in the old cemetery in Washington. Samuel survived the amputation and later moved to Boston, where he worked at the Customs House and later moved to New York where the rest of his body was buried upon his death in 1851.

Washington Congregational Church // 1840

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Located adjacent to the Washington Meeting House and Central Schoolhouse on the Washington, New Hampshire Town Green, the Washington Congregational Church perfectly compliments the collection of vernacular buildings here to create a very cohesive, three-building historic district. The church is dominated by a Gothic-inspired two stage square tower adorned by pointed pinnacles and crenellation. The building, constructed in 1840, is a great example of a Gothic Revival vernacular church building in rural New Hampshire and has been well-maintained over the years. In 1960, a fire in the church resulted in several thousand dollars worth of damage. A full basement was built under the church in 1985 to provide space for Sunday School classes and events. The simple arched sanctuary has remained in keeping with the original interior design, and features wide board wainscoting and wooden pews, taken from the old Meeting House.