New Boston Historical Society
New Boston, New Hampshire
170 South Hill Road in the 1890s including the cottage built for overflow summer boarders and the main house today
Behind the Door: 170 South Hill Road
by Mary Atai (June 2023)
Clark Crombie, son of one of New Boston's earliest settlers, married Lucy Dane in the early 1800s and lived on the remote tract of land where 170 South Hill Road currently stands. Lucy was an ancestor of Jim Dane, who passed away in 2020 and is well remembered and greatly missed. The Crombies moved to Massachusetts in 1847, selling the tract of 121 acres to George A. Prince for $2,346.
George Prince and his wife, Martha Angie, raised 6 children here and ran it as a summer boarding house. They called it Hillside Farm. It was open from June through October. They charged $1.00 per day. It was advertised to have "pleasant rooms, good air, pure water, plenty of milk and fresh vegetables, and fine views." Because business was so good, George built the McLaughlin cottage across the road from his home to better accommodate the guests, which sometimes amounted to 25 at a time.
The homestead stayed in the Prince family for many years with tracts being periodically sold off. In 1938, Fred Prince, one of George's 6 children, and his wife Lizzie, were living here. At that time, they had 18 acres and the property was valued at $2500. Fred owned the mill on Route 13 across from the Post Office that would later be owned by Sutherland, then Marden, then Walter Kirsch. He was also a member of the Langdell Lumber Company. Later he worked for the State Highway Department before passing away in 1954. The house was eventually bought by neighbor Dr. Charles Townes, who rented it out.
Well remembered in this town, Nonah and David Poole, rented this house for 21 years, and raised their family here. Amy Poole Parrish, who grew up in the house with her 3 siblings, remembers an idyllic childhood, playing in the huge red barn, running through the fields, and getting to see the magnificent sunsets every day. She particularly remembers Dr. Charles Townes as being a very kind and wonderful human being.
The house had been empty for some time when the current owner, Peter Kress, became interested in buying it more than a decade ago. Peter, who was a school administrator, was living on a beautiful boat in Boston harbor. He was looking for a place to retire, so his daughter, Maggie, and her husband Stephen Tipping, both of New Boston, found this property on the internet. The house, the barn, and the fields were in rough shape, but Peter was especially attracted to the beauty and history of the barn and felt he could take on the project.
Barn prior to renovation
Visit the Swallow Ridge Farm website for more information about their cheeses and a photo gallery, too.
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