ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF PETERBOROUGH - History and Genealogy of Peterborough - Hillsborough County

AN ABBREVIATED EARLY HISTORY
OF THE TOWN OF PETERBOROUGH NH
excerpts from
"History of the Town of Peterborough,
Hillsborough County,
New Hampshire"
by Albert Smith, M.D., LL.D, 1876

" Peterborough, County of Hillsborough, latitude forty-two degrees, fifty-two minutes, longitude seventy-two degrees, three minutes, is situated in the southwestern part of the county, bordering on Cheshire County, and lies in an amphitheatrical form, with the Monadnock and the large elevated ride of land north of it on the west, the Pack Monadnock and its range, extending through Sharon to New Ipswich, on the east. The village is situated on the Contoocook [River] not far from the center of town, and is the place where these opposite sides converge."

At a meeting of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts, assembled Dec. 5, 1737, Samuel Heywood and others [of Hopkinton] petitioned that court "that they might be granted a tract of land on the Souhegan River for a township." In 1735 that court voted them "a township of six miles square." On January 16, 1738 Gov. Jonathan Belcher signed an act empowering them to survey the land. Joseph Wilder was selected as Surveyor, and Joseph Richardson and Zacheus Lovell as Charimen, to run the lines around the grant, north-east from the "great Monadnock Hill." The surveyors reported back to the Legislature on May 21, 1738.

The General Court approved the survey and authorized Jonathan Prescott to call the first meeting of the proprietors, which he did on 25th of July, 1738 at the public house, or tavern, of Luke Verdy, in Boston.

By 29 Nov 1738 "it is evident that [these] four men (Hill, Fowle, Gridley and Prescott) had become proprietors of all but two lots in the township -- at that meeting a committee was appointed to "view" the township and to lay out "the town lots." This committee consisted of John Hill, John Fowle Jr. , Jeremiah Gridley, Jonathan and Peter Prescott.

The names of the first settlers [from several sources] included William Robbe, Alexander Scott, Hugh Gregg, William Gregg, Samuel Stinson, William Robbe, William Wallace, and William Mitchell. "No permanent settlements took place until 1749... Of the party that came in 1739, all were probably driven away, by fear of the Indians, before any considerable clearing had been made... In 1742, a party of five, came from Lunenburg and cleared a small patch of land near the old meeting-house...they abandoned the settlement at or before the alarm of the war in 1744" [i.e. French and Indian War] and it was not resumed until the peace of 1749. "Another attempt was made before 1744 by William Menee, John Taggart, and William Ritchie," who left and returned in 1749 or 1750. Another account states that Capt. Thomas Morison and a Mr. Russell came to the town as early as 1744. The first child born in Peterborough, was not born until Feb. 22, 1751.

It is believed that Peterborough received its name in honor of the Earl of Peterborough, however there is no documentation to prove same. "In a certain deed to Lieut. John Gregg, of the farm C, by John Hill Dec. 6, 1743, it is described as 'East Monadnick'." It is first recognized in their records by the name of Peterborough, at their first meeting held in Peterborough, Sept. 22, 1753.

The settlement went on prosperously up to 1759. The town was officially incorporated Jan. 17, 1760 within the Province of New Hampshire, granted by George the Second, King. The first meeting was called by Hugh Wilson, authorized to do so in the charter. The meetings of the town after this organization have been held continuously to the present, with the exception of one in 1770 and the other in 1840.

Many of the early settlers were of Scottish or Irish origin. Families from Lunenburg, Mass. and Londonderry, N.H. can be found in the lists off the early settlers [in addition to the list above, which included]: William Ritchie, Dea. William McNee, Dea. William McNee Jr., Joseph Caldwell, John Taggart, Gustavus Swan, William Stuart, William Smith, Samuel Miller, Thomas Cunningham, Alexander Scott, James Robbe, John White, John Morison, Jonathan Morison, Capt. Thomas Morison, John Smith, Dea. Timothy Davison, Thomas Turner, Dea. Samuel Mitchell, William Scott, William Mitchell, Rev. Mr. Harvey, Samuel Stinson, William Robbe, Samuel Todd, Dea. Samuel Moore, John Ferguson, David Bogle, James McKean, Jotham Blanchard, Maj. Samuel Gregg, Lieut. John Gregg, Hugh Wilson, Jotham Blanchard, William McCoy, George McClourge, Thomas McCloud, Capt. David Steele, Samuel Miller, Joseph Hammill, Maj. Robert Wilson, Dr. John Young, Samuel Brackett, Thomas Little, Abraham Holmes, Abel Parker, Elijah Puffer, and others.

Originally, "their dwellings were miserable huts, not a board upon or within them till 1751, when three frame-houses were erected."

The first meeting-house "which must have been erected as early as 1752 or '53 for several years was furnished with no other seats than rough boards laid loosely upon square blocks of wood."

"The first use made of our water-privileges was for a saw and grist-mill. . . built by Jonathan Morrison in 1751 for William Gordon, of Dunstable, Mass."

In 1788 "a small portion of the town situated on the south-east corner. . . and on the east side of the mountain, was set off to Temple..." In 1791 when Greenfield was chartered, lots one to six were added to that town.

Population - the first census of Peterborough was made in 1767, as follows:

The first house for public worship was erected in the year 1752. It is first mentioned after incorporation in 1761, when "sixty-eight pounds were voted to repair the meeting-house from falling trees and fire." In 1774 it was voted "to build a new meeting-house" but that house was not raised until 1777 and finally finished in 1779.

"The first store opened [in Peterborough] in 1771...The first clothier's shop, for taking in wool to card and cloth to dress, was built by William Powers, in 1780, and this was the only factory in town till 1793; when, a wooden building . . . was erected by Samuel Smith . . . and included a paper-mill, a saw-mill, an oil-mill, a clothier's shop, a trip-hammer shop, a wool-carding machine, and a dwelling house."

The first school house was probably erected around 1790, when the town was divided into five districts and "provision made for the erection of five buildings."

The first post office was established with the appointment of John Smith [as postmaster] on Oct. 1, 1795.

The "Peterborough Social Library" was established in 1811. The Peterborough Social Library "became gradually neglected, and was sold about 1830. The Peterborough Town Library was established in 1833, and was, "without doubt, the first free public library in the United States."

Three cemeteries were established in the town since its settlement, the Old Cemetery, the Village Cemetery and the Pine Hill Cemetery. SEE Cemeteries under the "Genealogy" section of this web site. In addition there are several small "family" cemeteries and gravesites.

In addition to the above, a few burials were made in a little graveyard on the meeting-house hill. William Stuart, the first person who died in town, March 15, 1753, aged thirty-three years was buried here, and then five other burials (which have stones) took place, and a few mounds and head-stones indicate a few graves beside.

"A spot was selected near, situated on the side of the hill, east of the meeting-house of about one and a half acres, and walled in for this purpose which is now known as the Old Cemetery." The first burial in this yard was Samuel, son of Capt. Thomas and Mary Morison, died Dec. 22 1754, aged one year; and then burials occurred there until 1834, upon the establishment of a new yard.

Village Cemetery was established in the town meeting of April 8, 1834 "that the town take one acre of land on the north end of the new graveyard."

Pine Hill Cemetery was established in 1867 after it was found that all the lots in the Village Cemetery were taken up. The cemetery contained about forty acres.

The first town hall was built in 1830. Previous to this time all town meetings had been held in the meeting-house. It was built on the Mitchell Flat on Lot No. 5. At a meeting of the town March 13, 1860 it was voted to build a town-house, and it was erected in 1860.

Peterborough Savings Bank was incorporated in 1847. It was organized in 1859 by John H. Steele, William Follansbee, Timothy K. Ames, Whitcomb French, James Scott, Albert Smith, Daniel B. Cutter, Samuel Nay, Abraham P. Morrison, Abial Sawyer, Norton Hunt, and Samuel Adams, as board of trustees.

The first newspaper in town was published by William P. and John S. Dunbar in the latter part of 1829 and called the Hillsboro Republican and New Hampshire Clarion. It closed April 29, 1831. The second paper [in pamphlet form] called the Peterborough Messenger, was published by Samuel P. Brown in the summer of 1847 and discontinued after about 10 months.

The first number of the Contoocook Transcript, published by John R. Miller and Kendall C. Scott was issued June 2, 1849 with four hundred subscribers. It was been continued uninterruptedly to this time, the present proprietors having early changed the name to that of The Peterboro' Transcript.

The Town Clock was purchased in 1856 and erected in the tower of the Congregational Church.

On May 3, 1856: "Voted, That the town purchase a fire-engine and the necessary apparatus for the extinguishment of fires." Prior to this the only means of extinguishing fires was a large fire-engine belonging to and attached to the Phoenix Factory, and a smaller one belonging to the Union Manufacturing Co.

New Hampshire's first state park was created in 1891 when Charles F. Melendy and Austin A. Spofford deeded a three-acre tract of land on the summit of South Pack Monadnock to the state. The following year the park was dedicated in memory of General James Miller, a hero of the Battle of Lundy's Lane in the War of 1812.