Author: Hanover Historical Society

3/28/24 – Author Cyndy Bittinger spoke about the women behind Hanover’s Webster Cottage in this talk sponsored by the Hanover Historical Society and Howe Library. 

Webster Cottage, built in 1780, resides at 32 North Main Street and is operated by the Hanover Historical Society for tours during the season.  The outside plaque states that Daniel Webster, the famous American statesman, and Henry Fowle Durant (born Henry Wells Smith), founder of Wellesley College, once lived there.  Yet females also lived in the cottage and they were the ones who saved it for future generations.  Who were these women?  What did they do?  One of them even had a collection of silhouettes so valuable that they are now at the Smithsonian Museum.  For women’s history month, Howe Library and the Hanover Historical Society are sponsoring a talk by Cyndy Bittinger on this subject.

Cyndy Bittinger is faculty, The Community College of Vermont.  She has taught Vermont History and Women in U.S. History at CCV for over 20 years. She gives lectures for OSHER, the Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Vermont.  She is a member of the Center for Research on Vermont at the University of Vermont.  She was a commentator for many years for Vermont Public Radio on Vermont history. She is president of the Hanover Historical Society in Hanover, NH.  She wrote Grace Coolidge, Sudden Star, a book about Vermont’s only first lady, and appeared on C-SPAN for their series on first ladies.  Her book Vermont Women, Native Americans and African Americans: Out of the Shadows of History continues to be of interest to her students and the public.  She is a graduate of Wheaton College (MA) and Teachers College, Columbia University.

On May 31 and June 1, 2023, fourth-grade students from the Ray School in Hanover visited Webster Cottage with their teachers and aides.  Scott and Lindsay McClure Miller of World Story Exchange designed a program for the children.  The students were asked to study artifacts in the cottage and then draw them.  Our volunteers answered questions from the students  about their chosen items. 4^th graders study state history and this was part of their curriculum.  The students were learning town history and learning to appreciate their environment.

Then in September and October of 2023, a new class of 4^th graders participated in a 5-class project focused on the historical exploration of local watersheds and surrounding Old Grove trees.   Students used field notes and photography to document their findings.  This was all led by World Story Exchange as our consultants.  As 4^th grade teacher Emily Clarkson wrote, the students “learn to explain the relationship between the land and the people, both presently and historically.  This understanding also leads 4^th graders to wonder about the future of the land and how people may affect it.”  Scott Miller of World Story Exchange guided the field trips to the Connecticut River area and worked with the students for 5 weeks to create their projects.  At the end, he arranged all the student photographs and writing and mounted them in the 4^th grade corridor to be seen by all for several months.  Then the exhibit was mounted at the Mascoma Bank and is now at the children’s area of Howe Library in Hanover.

We thank the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation for funding this exciting exploration of local history.

For those of you who missed the parade, let me share a look at that day. Three cars lined up to participate as the Hanover Historical Society’s contribution to the parade. A 1929 model A Roadster pickup truck driven by Dick Baughman led us off. Next we had a 1939 Austin “Big Seven” with four doors from England driven by Garlan Hoskin. Benjamin Hoskin drove the third car, a 1951 Alvin TC21 Drop Head Coupe from England. Drivers touted their car horns and the crowd waved back at us.

Our re-enactors were the following: Eleazar Wheelock was portrayed by Charles Buell of the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College. (Hanover was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on July 4, 1761 and Wheelock established Dartmouth College in 1769.) Wheelock’s housekeeper was portrayed by Sue Reed. Heidi Hoskin is pictured here with the re-enactors.

Then we jumped to the next century with Daniel Webster portrayed by Bill Hammond, a beloved retired teacher from Hanover High School. His character rode a unicycle and juggled at the same time.

We all arrived at the Dartmouth Green where Alan Callaway, a Board member, had set up a table with some of our books to give away. We have many books about the cottage and old homes that the public appreciated. Also, Susan Boyle, another board member, had created many visuals from old photos to surround the table. A good time was had by all.

1. Adair Mulligan, Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy, standing in the Tunis schoolhouse. The building has been restored to its 1822 condition.
2. Here is Barbara Fildes giving us a history of the Tunis schoolhouse, circa 1822. Note the pump and flag.
3. Here are visitors to the Tunis Schoolhouse on September 25 to celebrate 200 years of its existence. We are listening to Barbara Fildes presenting history of the building and historic site in Hanover, NH.

Remote northeast Hanover is the Tunis District, a once-busy 19th c. settlement, with its own one-room schoolhouse built in 1822. Despite its move from the original site on the southwest corner of Tunis and Wolfeboro Road around 1950 and its use as a seasonal dwelling, many original features of this 1822 schoolhouse are intact. Windows, slate blackboards, and wide boards on the lower walls are all authentic elements from days gone by. Visitors to the schoolhouse will be able to experience it as it once was. A map of New Hampshire made in 1820 is there.

This year the schoolhouse is 200 years old. It significantly pre-dates many of Hanover’s revered buildings. No one would claim that the Tunis District Schoolhouse is of great historical significance, nor is it a grand architectural monument. It is, however, a real and direct link to our community’s past – a glimpse into a way that working men and women lived in our town more than a century and a half ago. A visit to the restored schoolhouse will hopefully teach history in an intimate way that is rare today.

Because of their charm and the ease with which schoolhouses can be converted to residences and shops, few stand intact in northern New England. Proximity of the Tunis District Schoolhouse to the Tunis Cemetery places this schoolhouse in historical context, as names on the headstones also appear in the town school records as students and teachers. The proximity of the two speaks to the pioneer and agricultural community that once existed in this district. The current location of the schoolhouse at the roadside is historically accurate.

– The above is written by Keith Quinton and updated by Cyndy Bittinger

The 603 History Hunt was a statewide scavenger hunt across the state of New Hampshire. Created by the New Hampshire Historical Society, it was one of several programs and events organized to mark the Society’s 200th anniversary in 2023. The 603 History Hunt presented players with a series of challenges. There were dozens of challenges players could choose. Some could be completed from just about anywhere in the state, while others were tied to a specific region or location within New Hampshire. The Challenges asked players to complete a variety of tasks, such as film a video, take a photograph, answer a trivia question, or scan a QR code. A point value was attached to each challenge. Players chose which challenges to complete and how many challenges they wanted to undertake, and they earned points accordingly. Prizes were awarded based on points earned. Throughout the month of July, players could check the Leaderboard to see how they were doing compared to other players. The challenge ended July 31.

In Hanover, New Hampshire players took their pictures in front of Webster Cottage. One couple came to the cottage when it was open on Saturday, July 29. This photo was part of their scavenger hunt. This is Bob Capone of Portsmouth, NH. He and his wife were at number 27 on that day as far as finding the items on the scavenger list.

On 9/14/23 Michael Hartman, the Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator for American Art, gave a highlights tour of the Hood Museum, with a special focus on the reinstallation of the American galleries for the exhibition “Liquidity: Art, Commodities, and Water.” Information about this can be found on the Hood Museum’s website: https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/explore/exhibitions/liquidity