Andover NH Historical Society

08/30/2026

08/29/2026

Part of Andover was ceded to the new town of Franklin, too. Here are some details from our neighbors in Salisbury:

Salisbury and Franklin did not simply “swap” a small boundary strip in a later adjustment. The main change occurred when the New Hampshire legislature created the new Town of Franklin from parts of four existing towns—including Salisbury—in 1828. Franklin was incorporated on December 24, 1828.

Before Franklin existed, Salisbury was much larger: it extended eastward to the Merrimack River. The river junction area—then called Pemigewasset Village—was developing as a mill and commercial center because of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers. Local business interests wanted the taxes generated by that growing industrial area to stay local and to be administered by a new town centered there. Franklin was formed from portions of:
Salisbury, Andover, Northfield, Sanbornton.
That removed roughly one-quarter of Salisbury and created the present general Salisbury–Franklin boundary.

Franklin, New Hampshire, was named in honor of Benjamin Franklin—the Founding Father, statesman, scientist, and writer, it adopted the name Franklin in 1820.

08/27/2026

Selling ice was a profitable industry in NH, too.

In the 1830s a man from Boston was shipping frozen New England pond water to Calcutta, and getting rich doing it. 🧊

Frederic Tudor started trying to sell ice in 1806 and was mocked for it. He went deep into debt and spent years dodging creditors. The business only worked once the harvest got industrialized. Nathaniel Wyeth, who ran the Fresh Pond ice fields, invented a horse drawn two bladed ice cutter that scored a lake into a grid and produced standardized blocks. Standardized blocks stack tight, and tight stacks melt slowly. That was the whole unlock.

The ice came off Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Spy Pond in Arlington, Walden Pond in Concord, Horn Pond in Woburn, Spot Pond in Stoneham and Wenham Lake in Wenham, among others. Tudor marketed Wenham Lake ice as the purest in the world and it became a status item in London, where shops would prop a newspaper behind a block in the window to prove you could read straight through it.

In May 1833 the brig Tuscany sailed from Boston for Calcutta with 180 tons of ice, roughly 16,000 miles around the Cape of Good Hope. It arrived about four months later with 100 tons still frozen. Calcutta went on to become his most profitable market.

An entire global industry, built on New England winter. Did you grow up hearing about the old ice houses around here? ❄️

08/23/2026

A small workshop in Concord, New Hampshire once built the vehicle that became one of the most recognizable symbols of the American West, and most people have no idea it came from New England at all. The Abbot-Downing Company manufactured the Concord Coach, a rugged stagecoach known for its innovative leather thoroughbrace suspension that made long distance travel across rough terrain far more bearable than earlier designs. These coaches were shipped across the country and even internationally, carrying passengers, mail, and payroll shipments through the American frontier, and were famously used by Wells Fargo and countless western stage lines. Despite building a vehicle so closely associated with the Wild West in popular imagination, Abbot-Downing remained a proudly local New Hampshire operation, and the Concord Coach's origins in a quiet New England workshop have largely been forgotten by the very culture that romanticizes it. Did you know the classic stagecoach of the American West was actually built in a small New Hampshire workshop? 🐎🛠️

08/16/2026

What brought you to Andover?

08/16/2026

Remember this from four years ago?

In this episode of Minuteman Tales we visit the famous Potter Place...

08/01/2026

Did you know THE Buffalo Bill visited Concord in 1895? This coach was built by the Abbot-Downing Company in Concord in 1863 and was then shipped to California. Buffalo Bill used this very coach for his Wild West Show, including a tour in Europe, and was returned to Concord in July of 1895. Find more historic images in the CPL Digital Collections here: https://www.concordnh.gov/2052/CPL-Digital-Collections

07/28/2026

Stop by the museums at Potter Place on your trip!

Get ready for an awesome August on the Northern Rail Trail!

Join us for the Second Annual Northern Rail Trail Challenge and make the most of summer outdoors. Ride as an individual or team, track your progress all month long, and enjoy the journey along one of New Hampshire’s most scenic trails.

Registration is just $25 and includes a custom ball cap plus a progress card/map. Complete the challenge and send in a phone photo of your completed card/map along with your mailing address to [email protected]. You will then receive a magnetic bumper sticker in the mail to celebrate your accomplishment.

Want to mix it up? Take advantage of our optional shuttle days by registering for a shuttle ride:

Boscawen to Danbury on August 1 and August 15 (10:00 AM start)

Lebanon to Potter Place on August 8 (10:00 AM start)

Shuttle spots are limited for shuttles, so plan ahead.

Whether you're aiming for distance, fun, or just a reason to get outside more often, this is a great way to stay active and connect with the community.

REGISTER for the challenge and shuttles by clicking the 'Get On It' tab at the top of FNRT.ORG homepage.

07/23/2026

So much fun hosting this group of Gordon Research scientists at the Emon's Store this week. When we shared this 1912 store was the local place to socialize with your neighbors they took notice and next thing we knew one was explaining to another how to play checkers.