Ancient beginnings only hinted at the great things to come in the story of Meredith. The earliest residents hunted mammoth and caribou and created the first birch-bark canoe to traverse Lake Winnipesaukee and the network of waterways. Centuries later, Meredith's Dudley Leavitt wrote Leavitt's Farmers Almanack for more than fifty years. The local woods were the solitary home of Joseph Plumer, who was perhaps New Hampshire's most financially successful hermit. Motorcycles, cars and horses once raced on the winter ice of Lake Winnipesaukee. Together, these stories weave the distinctive fabric of Meredith history. Dan Heyduk's town history goes beyond documents and dates, illustrating the unique character of a multifaceted community.
Daniel Heyduk, PhD, lived with and studied Nahuatl-speaking people in Mexico and Quechua-speaking people in Bolivia. He did archaeological work on prehistoric hunters in Ecuador and was a college professor of anthropology and prehistory in Maine. Dan now lives in Meredith, in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, where he is researching and writing about local history. His history column “Passing Time” appears in the Meredith News.