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The Old
Allenstown Meetinghouse
A Brief
History
 
The Old Allenstown Meeting House was erected by
members of the First Christian Church and the townspeople in 1815, and was
completed by 1817. It features sloping floors extending from balconied box
pews and a high pulpit surrounded by signed plaster walls.
The building was used for public meetings, elections and church
services until 1876. The First Christian Church continued to use the
building for occasional church services and the annual "Strafford Conference
of Christian Churches." In 1908, Allenstown transferred the property to the
Buntin Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. They restored the
building to its original condition by August of 1909 and held a dedication
service.
In 1991, the Buntin Chapter D.A.R. donated the Meeting House to the
State of New Hampshire. At that time, a steering committee was formed to
investigate restoration, development and fundraising.
A restoration program has been developed and building restoration has
begun.
The Old Allenstown Meeting House is located on Deerfield Road, in the
confines of Bear Brook State Park.
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Allenstown, NH
A Brief
History
In 1722, the heirs of Governor Samuel Allen received a
grant of a tract of land four miles square. The Masonian proprietors finally
planned the settlement of this land. In 1750 they obtained control of the
land from the heirs of Governor Allen. In 1759 this tract of land was named
Allenstown in honor of Governor Allen.
There were originally thirty lots of 350 acres each laid out. There
were fifteen proprietors and they each received two lots. The proprietors in
town could subdivide the lots and sell them to settlers.
By 1773 there were 143 people living in Allenstown. The best farming
land was in the northern part of the town along what is now Deerfield Road.
The first sawmill was built in the Bear Brook area near the Deerfield town
line on Little Mill Brook in 1769.
By 1790 there were 254 people living in Allenstown. By this time a
gristmill had been built on Bear Brook near the highway and a tavern was
built near what is now the parking lot behind the bathhouse in Bear Brook
State Park.
By 1817 the population was 346. There were four sawmills and two
gristmills. A new Meeting House had just been built and was located on
Deerfield Road, in the center of town. Town meetings were held in the
Meeting House until 1876. There were two school districts. District 1 had a
school on the main road. District 2 along Podunk Road had no schoolhouse
until 1840. Every year the residents had to find a place to hold school
until the schoolhouse was built. By 1823 there were five sawmills in town.
Four were on or near Bear Brook and the 5th one was on Podunk Road near the
Candia town line.
Spruce and Beaver Ponds were once called “Shingle Ponds” in reference
to the shingles made there. John Richards owned and operated a bark mill and
tannery on the Mount Delight Road. Waldon Evans ran a cooperage near the
Burgin Tavern. All the lumber in the Bear Brook area had been exhausted by
1874.
By 1831 Allenstown had a population of 481 which was enough to become a
town. It was incorporated on July 2, 1831.
Because of the coming of the railroad and the growth of the mills in
the Suncook area of the town, the population of Allenstown shifted from the
eastern to the western part of the town. After the Civil War most of the
farms in eastern Allenstown gradually dwindled away. In 1876 town meetings
were moved to the Hayes Opera House. The old Meeting House was closed and
rarely used. In 1901 the old meeting house was transferred to the D.A.R.
IN 1935 Bear Brook was selected for development as a recreational
demonstration area. At that time nearly 25% of the States population lived
within a 15-mile radius. Bear Brook State Park started with 6849 acres and
has grown into the States largest State Park with about 10,000 acres. |
