New Boston Historical Society

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New Boston Historical Society

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from New Boston Historical Society, 2 Central Square, New Boston, NH.

The New Boston Historical Society is a volunteer organization which preserves the history of our New Hampshire town and shares stories, photographs, and artifacts with the community.

05/29/2026

Has anyone seen "The Dark Wizard" on HBO Max? It's a 4-part documentary about Dean Potter, the BASE jumper who taught himself to climb cliffs on Joe English Hill when he was a New Boston teenager in the 1980s. The producer contacted the Historical Society for photos last winter... we wonder if they used any.

05/10/2026

The Historical Society invites you to "African-American Soldiers of NH During the American Revolution"
7:00pm THURSDAY, May 14, in the Community Church
Glenn Knoblock tells the history of Black soldiers (including two from New Boston) during the Revolutionary War.
**Sponsored by the NH Humanities Council**

04/30/2026

This rare Projectionist Cue Sheet for the 1927 movie "Man Power" starring Richard Dix and Mary Brian was found in the Town Hall.
Did you know that the New Boston Town Hall had a movie theater? Movies were shown on the second floor, where the Joe English Grange now meets.
There's still a tin-lined booth for the movie projectors, of which there were two.
An hour-long movie like "Man Power" was delivered on 6 ten-minute reels. The projectionist would use a cue sheet to know when to switch from the projector running Reel 1 to the projector on which he'd loaded Reel 2. Then he'd load Reel 3 on the 1st projector etc.
In addition to the spoken and visual cues printed on the cue sheet, there were white dots that flashed in the top-right corner of the screen to tell the projectionist when to start the 2nd projector and when to close one shutter and open the other.
The IMDB entry for "Man Power" says that the film is presumed lost, and that actor Mary Brian was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939).
The movie poster image is from IMDB.

04/21/2026

What is the meaning of "Piscataquog"?

The question and three different answers are from "Historic magazine and notes and queries; a monthly of history, folk-lore, mathematics, literature, art, arcane societies, etc." (Manchester NH 1888)

04/17/2026

"One if by land, two if by sea."
This is one of two lanterns which hung in the steeple of Old North Church the night of April 18, 1775, to alert the Patriots that Redcoats would leave Boston by boat on their way to Lexington and Concord. Seeing the lanterns, Paul Revere leapt upon his horse and galloped off, shouting "The British are coming!" to anyone who'd listen... according to legend.
The lantern now may be seen in the Concord (MA) Museum, in front of an animated map that shows the events of the following day.
After the war, Revere returned to his business as a silversmith and bell-maker. Did you know that the largest Revere bell in New Hampshire hangs in the bell tower of the Community Church of New Boston?

04/10/2026

A true story: in 1980 the town had a contest to name the spring on River Road. This was the winning entry.

04/02/2026

Hundred-year-old Whitall, Tatum & Co. apothecary scales from Hagland's Drug Store donated to the Historical Society by Wendy Fletcher Todd.

Ernest Hagland was New Boston's pharmacist from 1920-1948 in the building that's now Tates Gallery.

Thank you, Wendy!

03/27/2026

This month's old barn quiz was too easy.
A new challenge: can anyone identify this "made in New Boston" tool?
It went on sale on eBay today for $1,000 and sold within a few hours.
What's it used for?

03/21/2026

If you're a New Boston high school senior, you have only two weekends left to apply for scholarships that have a March 31st deadline, which include the Charlie & Rena Davis Memorial Scholarship offered by the Historical Society.
https://www.newbostonhistoricalsociety.com/about.html

03/14/2026

We received an email from a NH author named Karl Johnson:
"I have been photographing barns all over the northeast US for the last 45 years. Now that I’m retired, I have started scanning my earlier slides into digital format.
In the process, I noticed how many of the barns were no longer standing. So I decided to publish a book of photos of the most interesting ones. I want to be sure the barns I include really are gone. I wish now that I had included more than just the town on the slide frames to help locate them.
I hope you can tell me if these New Boston barns are still standing. [Photos from 1989.]
Last year, I published a book of photos titled 50 Barn Cupolas. It’s available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble if you’re interested."

We told Karl that his two New Boston barns are in fact still standing. Now we'll ask you if you recognize them - you've probably driven by both.

Address

2 Central Square
New Boston, NH
03070

Opening Hours

12pm - 2pm

Telephone

(603) 487-2526

Website

http://www.newbostonhistoricalsociety.com/

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