Members of the Dunbarton Historical Awareness Committee recently welcomed members of the Dunbarton Historical Society to a special event, as part of their monthly meeting, held at the Dunbarton Town Offices.

Present for the Historical Awareness Committee were town historian Harlan “Bud” Noyes, selectmen Rep. Les Hammond, Ken Swayze, Stan Hallinan, and Bill and Rebecca Rolke. The Historical Society members included Tom and Eleanor Watts, Nancy Frost, Gert Dulude, Mert Mann and Wayne Mills.

The Historical Awareness Committee invited a Dunbarton resident to present an antique ledger, purchased on eBay from an Ohio collector, and Bud Noyes delivered some background information about the ledger.

Caleb Stark of Dunbarton was the original owner. The ledger came from the store he operated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Stark’s father, Gen. John Stark, was a Revolutionary War hero.

The business was initially located across from the Molly Stark House; a landmark building at Page’s Corner, at the corner of Routes 13 and 77. Eventually, the store was re-located near Stark Mansion, on Mansion Road. Two barns currently stand across the road from the home. It is not known whether part of either barn, now totally renovated, housed the store. Also, in June 1930, the rear portion of the Stark mansion burned. The main house was saved, due to the presence of water from an outdoor pool.

A successful merchant, Stark owned two clipper ships, which brought store stock to port, for delivery overland to Dunbarton.

Penmanship in sepia-toned ink documents transactions made at the store from 1799 to 1800. People making purchases were described as “Dr,” meaning debtor.

Stark’s store was well-known in early New Hampshire. Entries of purchases of “sundries” made by residents of Weare and Hopkinton attest to the store’s attraction to shoppers from outside of Dunbarton. Visitors to the store from as far away as the Connecticut River Valley area indicate that this was a place known to travelers, possibly on their way to Concord or Manchester.

Payments for goods were often made with cash, butter and “tow cloth,” the latter two probably being made in local homes, for barter. “Tow” was waste fiber left after the longer “line” fiber from the flax plant was used to make linen. It was spun into thick, fuzzy thread, woven into cloth, and made into utilitarian items such as sacks and work clothing. Another frequent method of payment was with ashes and potash, used for soap making and fertilizer.

Of interest were the numerous entries of purchases by John Stark, and the lack of payments for extended periods of time. In the end, he did pay his debts.

Dunbarton native Wayne Mills’ ancestor John Mills was noted as a store patron. Others frequenting the store were Bunten family members related to Les Hammond and Nancy Frost.

Frost also noted her family name, Caldwell, in the ledger.

The 1940s were a time of change for the Stark family. The mansion was sold, and boxes of the family’s belongings were auctioned off. Bud Noyes speculates the store ledger was perhaps among the auctioned items. The new owners of Stark Mansion brought truckloads of the home’s remaining contents to the dump.