New Hampshire of Yesteryear

Dream to Reality

2010-10-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

In order to make a reality my dream of a blog about New Hampshire history, reflecting some of the topics I wrote about in my newspaper column, New Hampshire of Yesteryear, I MUST get to work. I'd like to have it as a reference for teachers who teach this topic in elementary and high school, as well as home schools.

For many years I wrote this column (under a couple of names) for New Hampshire newspapers and tourist publications. It seemed popular, based on the responses I received from readers.

I've even been invited to give talks on the topic, another way I enjoy sharing my research and writing.

From this blog and those columns, I'm also contemplating a book.

(NH Capitol building; sxc.hu image)

My Dream of Teaching NH History Through Blogging

2009-07-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired to get my NH history blog up and running so that I can offer information and activities for teachers of this topic, especially primary school teachers. I've dreamed of doing this for years...at first as a print newsletter, then e-newsletter, and now as a blog. With the convenience of blogging, I can post information from my years of research and writing, as well as references to my children's stories.

My most popular one, Sarah Jane's Daring Deed, will have a blog of its own, especially as I finish the picture book version.

So.....keep tuned for what I have to offer.

Mary Emma Allen Published in Anthology

2009-02-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yesteryear blogger, Mary Emma Allen has stories featured in the new release, Eternally Yours, an anthology of poetry, light essays, devotions and meditations, edited by Mary Ellen Grisham and published by Xulon Press.

Featuring some of the best Christian writers on the Internet, this book represents work that has appeared in the Eternal Ink E-zine since it’s inception in 1999.

In addition, Mary gives presentations and teaches workshops at schools, libraries, writers’ conferences, and for other groups. Some of her talks include topics such as Alzheimer's and caregiving, quilt history and quiltmaking, New Hampshire history, and writing.

I was pleased when Ms. Grisham selected some of my stories for inclusion in this anthology. It's exciting to encourage and inspire others with my writing.

Step Back in Time in Sandwich Notch

2006-02-17T17:22:00.000-08:00

You'll find Sandwich Notch a fascinating place to explore in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, an area where you can recapture the aura of the Granite State’s early days. As you wander along the hilly, winding dirt road through the notch connecting the regions around the villages of Sandwich and Waterville Valley, you seem far from civilization and can glimpse the unspoiled natural beauty of the state.

You can hike part of the way and take other trails branching off this road. Or if you’re more adventuresome, place cars at each end of Sandwich Notch Road and walk the full length…approximately nine miles.

Two books you might want to read before you travel this mountain road are “The Road Through Sandwich Notch” by Elizabeth Yates (relating her hike along this route and her explanation of its history) and the “Appalachian Mountain Club White Mountain Guide” with hiking guidelines and a bit of the road’s background.

Road Once Heavily Traveled

Although Sandwich Notch now seems isolated (there is only one old house left standing at the western end of the road), it once was a busy place. More than 300 families lived along its length in the early and middle 1800s. A thriving settlement existed, and the heavily traveled road (for those days) was maintained.

Sandwich Notch Road once was an important commercial roadway over which carts and wagons passed in summer (once “mud season” was over) and sleds in winter. During this era, farmers in northern New Hampshire and Vermont brought their produce across the mountain road to markets in the coastal cities of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Portland, Maine.

Settled in the 1700s

The town of Sandwich was settled in 1765. By 1795 the pioneers had established a widely used cart track through the Notch. Eventually a tax of two cents an acre on all town of Sandwich lands was levied to pay for construction of a road across the Notch to the township of Thornton, near Waterville Valley.

Then settlement of the Notch began in earnest. Land was cleared and eventually 30 to 40 homes built. Three schools, a sawmill, gristmill, and tavern were erected. A minister held church services at Pulpit Rock or in his house.

The farms were fertile in this area and gardens produced well. Cattle and sheep grazed in the pastures. The land along the road wasn’t a forest, as it is today, but cleared and open, crisscrossed by stone walls, the remnants of which you see today.

Over this road, farmers drove cattle from the hill country to the seacoast markets, creating a sight bringing children to the roadside to view the event. Farmers, who needed money for goods other than what they grew on their farms, drove their ox carts across the Notch road as they brought their goods to market.

Settlers Left the Notch

By the mid-1850s, the climax of life in the Notch was reached. Population began declining after the Civil War as the young people looked elsewhere to earn a living in the mills of Massachusetts and on the lands of the Mid-West.

As the remaining settlers grew older, they began to cut down on the amount of land they farmed. Gradually the forest encroached upon the farms. The schools were no longer needed, and the saw mills and taverns ceased to exist.

One House Remains

Only one house remains from those built many years ago. The original structure went up in 1826; this later became the wood shed of the larger house erected by Alpheus Munsey Hall in 1877. Moses Hall lived there for most of his 84 years before his death in 1930.

Take time to explore the Sandwich Notch Road and the adjoining hiking trails. Discover the enchantment of the White Mountains and their history. Other abandoned “ghost” settlements can be found in these mountains as well.

©Mary Emma Allen

Stories and Activities About New Hampshire

2006-02-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

For many years I've been writing about New Hampshire, in newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. The history of areas where I live and travel have always fascinated me. I like to share the information I research and discover, hopefully encouraging others to enjoy the heritage of their community, state, and country.

I first wrote about the Pemigewasset Valley in my "Up and Down the Valley" column. Later I included stories and history about the entire state in "New Hampshire of Yesteryer."

Through this blog I'll share stories about the Granite State. Perhaps this also will be a resource for teachers and school children who are studying New Hampshire history in the classroom.

As a teacher and author, I'll develop activities youngsters can participate in to increase their knowledge of this state. Perhaps teachers will find them helpful as part of their curriculum about this unit.