Images of America

Located in the southwest corner of New Hampshire, Surry is an unspoiled town that in spite of major change retains the qualities of a nineteenth-century village. Framed by natural beauty, Surry was similar to other quiet New England hill towns until the hundred-year floods of the 1930s necessitated a dam. Bidding farewell to its routine of farm and mill, mine and turnpike, the town accepted the construction of the Surry Mountain Dam in 1938 and evolved swiftly into a desirable recreational and residential community.

Surry is a stunning compilation of photographs anchored in two core portfolios. One is the work of James E. Harvey, who captured Surry during the transitional first decade of the twentieth century. The second collection is the archive of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which documents the construction of the dam from its initial survey to completion, 1.2 million cubic yards of stone and concrete later. Here is the inside story of how a force of nature-the Ashuelot River-was dammed.

How this roadside attraction became a BEAR-y big hit and turned into a must-see New Hampshire destination that still exists today!

In 1928, Edward and Florence Clark opened a roadside attraction in Lincoln, New Hampshire, for visitors to the White Mountains. Ed Clark's Eskimo Sled Dog Ranch featured guided tours with its purebred Eskimo sled dogs and artifacts from Labrador, Canada. ""The Stand"" offered souvenirs, tonic, and maple products to motorists. Three black bears, Soggle, Toggle and Woggle, joined the family in 1935, and the bears acted as the perfect visual attraction, gaining the attention of curious passersby.

In 1949, Ed and Murray, sons of Florence and Edward, began training black bears for show work. The Clark brothers and their bears delighted guests with humor and hospitality as they entertained and educated the audience. Generations later, that philosophy lives on as the Clarks offer bear shows, rides on the White Mountain Central Railroad, family entertainment, and good, honest fun to visitors. There are up to 20 family members working at Clark's Trading Post on any given day, including fifth-generation descendants.

Milton, once a parish of Rochester, became an official town in 1802, when Lt. Elijah Horn established the first public meeting house at his home on Plummer's Ridge. For years a quiet farming community, Milton became a booming mill town when the area's ice industry experienced tremendous success in the 1880s. The Milton Ice Company, one of five such businesses in town, shipped up to 100 carloads of ice to Boston every day. The town's location as a halfway mark between Boston and the White Mountains also made it a popular stopping place for travelers. In Milton and the New Hampshire Farm Museum, Sarah Ricker takes us on a visual tour through this historic town, illustrating the town's progress in rare images that date from the 1880s to the 1930s. View landmarks in the central areas of town, including West Milton, Central Milton, and Plummer's Ridge, and the various mills that have fostered the community's economic growth. As you leaf through the pages of this book, you will take an amazing trip back in time to the early days of this close-knit community. Along the way, you'll discover the Jones Farm--before it became the New Hampshire Farm Museum--and meet such prominent citizens as Robert Edmund Jones, the man who perfected Technicolor.

The southern villages of Haverhill follow the course of the Oliverian Brook, with its winding banks that originate in the foothills of the White Mountains and pour into the mouth of the Connecticut River. Haverhill and East Haverhill explores the growth of these dynamic riverside communities, from the early days of exploration to the glory of the industrial age, when the village of Pike was once the whetstone capital of the world. Beginning in the hamlet of East Haverhill and meandering through to Haverhill Corner, the villages along the brook are marked by an abundance of natural resources and an unwavering Yankee spirit. This book celebrates the passions, struggles, and enterprise of the men and women who came before.

Walpole, a picturesque New England town on the banks of the Connecticut River, is older than the nation itself. Founded in 1752 by Colonial charter from New Hampshire's royal governor, the town's history parallels that of the nation, and it retains historic settings-period homes, gardens, squares, and commons. Walpole has been home to farmers, loggers, and mill and railroad workers, as well as artists, writers, and world-class chocolatiers. The traditional sense of community is as alive today in Walpole as it was in the early days, when community was necessary for survival.

Bordered by three rivers, Pembroke is located just south of Concord in one of the fastest growing areas of the state. Like many towns in New England, Pembroke started out as an agricultural settlement and developed into a thriving mill town. Cotton cloth, paper, glass, and bricks were produced in the village's mills, mostly by French Canadian immigrant labor. Among other things, Pembroke is known as the residence of the reputed inventor of the revolver and the site of a grisly murder in 1875. Through vintage photographs, Pembroke chronicles the evolution of this New England town.

Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation opened its gates on July 4, 1937, for its first summer season. Drawing the camp's name from a Native American phrase meaning "friends and brothers," the Massachusetts community of Greater Lowell built the camp in Northwood, New Hampshire, with the vision of creating a place where young men could go on a "voyage of discovery" and eagerly search for "what is over there." Thousands of young people have walked down the trails, gazed at the sunsets, and set out on adventures in the camp's 300 acres. Wah-Tut-Ca Scout Reservation tells the story of how this community developed, built, maintained, and expanded its Boy Scout camp through difficult times, including war and rationing. Now the largest camp of the Yankee Clipper Council BSA, Wah-Tut-Ca receives scouts, families, and adult scouters from more than 50 communities.

On Christmas Eve 1876, Portsmouth citizens watched flames reduce their largest meetinghouse and entertainment hall to ashes. During the following year, local families, businessmen, and craftsmen combined their resources to build a new auditorium with state-of-the-art lighting, rigging, staging, and seating-a comfortable venue for public addresses, charity functions, and international entertainment. The Music Hall, Portsmouth, was born.

Twain spoke from her stage, Sousa's brass echoed from her walls, and Edison's films brought her silver screen to life. Enduring war, depression, and multiple threats of destruction, this grand hall today stands as New Hampshire's oldest operating theater. Showcasing the world's finest stage and screen talent, offering artistic education to young and old, and hosting fundraisers and private events, the Music Hall is a testament to the necessity of arts in local culture and the strength of a community's resolve.

Located within the boundaries of the towns of Allenstown and Pembroke, Suncook, first granted as a township in 1728, has developed a rich history all its own. Railroad transportation was instrumental to the establishment and growth of three large textile mills. The first railroad system, the Concord and Portsmouth line, began in 1852. A second line, the Suncook Valley Railroad, followed in 1869. Drawn by advertisements in Canadian newspapers, French Canadian workers began migrating from Quebec in large numbers. By the late 1800s, Suncook had become known as "le Petit Canada." The power of the Suncook and Merrimack Rivers, scenic beauty in the area, and the connectivity brought through transportation helped transform a small industrial village into a vibrant and lasting community.

Wakefield and Brookfield, located at the geographic center of New England, lie in the beautiful Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Incorporated in 1774, Wakefield was a small agricultural community until the arrival of the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1871. The railroad brought economic and cultural changes to the town, shifting the town center from Wakefield Corner to Wolfeboro Junction (now Sanbornville) and giving rise to a bustling downtown business center and thriving ice-cutting industry. Brookfield became an independent town in 1794. Farmers were drawn to the town's fertile ground, and the area has remained quietly rural into the present. Both towns continue to draw visitors to their many lakes and ponds, as they have done for more than a century. Wakefield and Brookfield illustrates the shared history and diverging identities of these small towns.

An American poet once said that you should pack your boat of life with "only what you need-a home and simple pleasures." A tribute to these simple pleasures is presented in Around Newfound Lake, a nostalgic journey through a rich collection of vintage photographs. We see views of town and country, work and leisure, celebrations and even disasters-a charming collage of daily life through a century of change.

Newfound Lake occupies some 4,106 acres in the foothills of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Fed by underground springs, this pristine lake is nature's own recreation center. In quiet harmony with the lake are centuries-old towns and villages embracing its bounds: places such as Hill, Hebron, Groton, and New Hampton, known by other names and proprietary boundaries when first settled; Alexandria and Danbury, nestled at the foot of Mountains Cardigan and Ragged, respectively; Bridgewater, claiming the lion's share of the Newfound shoreline; and Bristol, the industrial hub.