New Hampton History

04/18/2026

Our next program! See you there!

03/12/2026

Please join us for our next program Tuesday March 17th!

The evolution of barn styles tell the story of New Hampshire agriculture, from early English style, to Yankee, Gambrel and Pole Barns.

The Historical Society thanks NH Humanities for providing our Presenter, John Porter, and this presentation.
This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments served as well!

09/15/2025

Please join us for our next program on Tuesday September 16th.

04/09/2025

Please join us for our next program!

03/17/2025

Please join us Wednesday night for our next program!

01/16/2025

The History of 'APRONS'
I don't think most kids today know what an apron is. The principle use of Mom's or Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..
And when the weather was cold, she wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, she walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about aprons.
REMEMBER:
Mom's and Grandma's used to set hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love

09/10/2024

08/10/2024

Will you be coming to Old Home Day today? See you there!

04/02/2024

Our Presenter will share interesting and unique examples from New Hampton’s history and will explain what is the same and what is different about untimely deaths now as compared to those 75+ years ago.

He will tell the stories of several such deaths in New Hampton and the mystery involved in these deaths. “Untimely Deaths” mean sudden and unexpected, and can include murders, suicides and accidents. It can also be attributed to anyone who is said to have died before their time.

Robert Hannaford Smith, Sr. will be presenting this program. We enjoyed his program last year about New Hampton’s Founding Father, General Jonathan Moulton. Bob has served in the past as NHHS Historian and Curator, and is a Contributing Writer for the Weirs Times.

Our programs are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. Please join us.