The Hanover Historical Society was founded in 1961, as the town celebrated its two-hundredth anniversary. This non-profit organization works to document Hanover’s past, by collecting local historical and biographical materials. Programs are regularly offered to the public, and each year a Social Studies scholarahip is awarded to a senior at Hanover High School. The Society works to preserve the physical remnants of Hanover’s heritage, by helping with the maintenance of tombstones in the oldest cemeteries. A very important part of our mission is operating the Webster Cottage Museum.
Webster Cottage was built in 1780 by Reverend Sylvanus Ripley with his wife Abigail Wheelock Ripley. The cottage originally sat on 15 acres given to Abigail by her father, Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College. It was later home to other families and on occasion was a boarding house. In 1800, when Daniel Webster was a student at Dartmouth, he lived upstairs as a boarder. Hence the name that was given to the building in the 20th c. when it was turned into a museum.
The full history of the cottage is told in the publication: Webster Cottage and Those Who lived There by Francis Lane Childs.
In September 2022, Hanover Historical Society was featured in the Here in Hanover magazine. Click here to read online or click here to download a PDF version of the article.
Hours, Map, and Directions
The Historical Society works in cooperation with Dartmouth College to give tours of Webster Cottage at 32 North Main Street in Hanover, NH.
During the season the hours are 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Memorial Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. View a virtual tour of the Webster Cottage building.