New Boston Historical Society
New Boston, New Hampshire
Roger Babson explains gravity and perpetual motion
New Boston History Mysteries
There was a rock festival in New Boston the weekend of August 20-21, 1971 which drew a crowd of 6,000-8,000 people. (Our town's population was only 1,400 at that time!) The site was Roger Hartleb's field on the 2nd NH Turnpike just north of the Mont Vernon town line. Edgar Winter & the White Trash and Redbone were among the groups who performed; the Allman Brothers dropped out at the last minute. We have a couple of newspaper clippings but no good photos. Were you there? Have you any pictures or memories to share?
The New Boston Railroad line ran from Parker Station in Goffstown to New Boston village, where it ended at the stone depot which is now a private residence. A hundred yards east of the depot was a turntable 60 feet in diameter which enabled railroad workers to turn the locomotive around and point it back towards Goffstown. Jim Dane and Howard Towne remembered seeing the turntable after the railroad stopped operating in the 1930s, and some of the curved concrete footings are still visible at 27 Depot Street. Has anyone a photo of the turntable?
Photo request: Does anyone have a photo of St. Pierre's miniature railroad in Riverdale?
When we toured Riverdale in the northeast corner of New Boston, we were told that a man named St. Pierre had a miniature railroad at his house at 463 Riverdale Road alongside the full-sized railroad tracks which ran from Parker Station in Goffstown to Weare. Mr. St. Pierre would blow a whistle and the neighborhood kids would come running to ride on his train. One of our tour guides remembered two miles of track; others thought it was considerably less. We think the St. Pierres were Robert and Mildred. We don't know when the miniature railroad was in operation; perhaps the 1960s or 1970s?
Where is the gravity house with sloping floors?
Roger Babson, who founded the Gravity Research Foundation, wrote an essay "Gravity and Ventilation" in which he suggested that bad air could be drained from a house due to gravity if its floor had a slight slope leading to a drain hole. In his 1952 book "Fads & Fallacies in the Name of Science" Martin Gardner wrote, "Such a house has actually been built in New Boston, with floors sloping a half-inch to the foot." Does anyone know where this house is or was? Babson may have also buried barrels full of silver dollars somewhere — do let us know if you find them!
1. Was Matthew Thornton New Boston's first doctor?
Cogswell's 1864 "History of New Boston" claims that Matthew Thornton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was New Boston's first medical doctor. This claim is repeated in Cochrane's 1895 "History of Francestown" which indicates that Thornton had his home in New Boston from 1762-1770, probably on what's now Thornton Road. The mystery is that New Boston is not mentioned in any biographies of Matthew Thornton, which document his presence in Merrimack and Londonderry during the years he was supposedly the doctor for New Boston and Francestown.
2. Who was Molly Griffin White?
During the Revolutionary War, a young woman named Molly Griffin White supposedly walked 75 miles from Gloucester, MA, to New Boston with her small children. Molly's husband was away fighting the British so she went to the home of her mother-in-law(?) Elizabeth Smith White McLaughlin, who may have been the daughter of New Boston's first settler Lt. Thomas Smith and also the wife of John McLaughlin, who owned a tavern near the New Boston cemetery. Molly's long walk is mentioned in an 1881 letter we haven't seen, and the Smith/White genealogy is uncertain.
3. Who was Peter Brewer?
Peter Brewer was a free black man who enlisted in Amherst NH from New Boston during the Revolutionary War and was killed in the Battle of Saratoga, October 7, 1777. Who was Peter Brewer? Did he have family in New Boston? Was he the father of Dorcas Brewer, the grandmother of Samantha Plantin?
4. What is the true history of the Molly Stark cannon?
We have written a detailed history of New Boston's famous cannon, which was cast in Paris, France, in 1743. This history is based entirely on stories written a hundred years later; we wonder how much of the legend is true.
If you can help us with our history mysteries or if you have any New Boston stories and photos to share with us, please e-mail the editor, Dan Rothman: townfarm@comcast.net
This page was last updated 2/25/2024
Here is one of many mystery photos in our collection, this one from a glass negative.
Who is the man on the barrel, and what is he doing there? We don't know!
A typed description indicates that it's Joe English Hill in the background, but we're doubtful.
