The Head School/ Chapel and Head Cemetery have been added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.
The Register, established in 2001, is one part of the state’s efforts to recognize and encourage the identification and protection of historical, architectural, archeological and cultural resources.
These irreplaceable resources may be buildings, districts, sites, landscapes, structures or objects that are meaningful in the history, architecture, archeology, engineering or traditions of New Hampshire residents and communities.
The State Register is administered by the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, which is the state’s Historic Preservation Office.
The earliest gravesites in Head Cemetery date to 1800, when Hooksett was a part of Chester. Twenty-five burials can be identified between 1800 and 1822 when the property was transferred to the new town of Hooksett. It contains the graves of early Hooksett settlers and incorporators and their descendants.
The headstones vary from modest to quite ornate.
The graves of Natt Head, who served as governor of the state of New Hampshire from 1879 to 1881, and family members are there.
A schoolhouse was first built on the site in 1805 by the town of Chester. Hooksett built the present brick building in 1839. It served as the District 1 schoolhouse until it was closed in 1912 for lack of pupils. The town voted to raise the sum of money ($300) necessary to remodel it as a chapel in 1922. The Annual Report for 1923 indicates that payments were made for labor and materials, but it is unclear exactly what was done and how often the chapel was used. In 1965, the Hooksett Woman’s Club undertook a renovation project. A rededication of the building as a nondenominational chapel was held in 1966.
The 1966 Town Report says that the chapel was open to the public weekdays whenever the caretakers were in the area, and on Sundays and holidays it was open from 10 a.m. until dark during the summer months.
Weddings were held there, and school children stopped by. A review of the guest book shows that from 1966 to 1984 visitors came to the chapel frequently.
The entries ceased in the mid-1980s, presumably when the chapel was closed to public access. Since 1984, the buildings have been vacant.
It is one of a small group of 19th century brick schoolhouses in New Hampshire. The schoolhouse is unusual in that it was built of brick in an age when most similar buildings were more cheaply constructed of wood. Fortunately, Hooksett was at the heart of one of the most productive brick manufacturing areas in New Hampshire, and the District No. 1 schoolhouse, also known as Head School, is a relatively early reflection of that manufacturing tradition.
Although other one-room schoolhouses exist, this one is rare because the wooden shed/ privy survived. It contains two “two-hole outhouse” areas and room for storage. Its existence greatly enhances the educational value and historic interpretation of the site.
Kathie Northrup, chairman of the Hooksett Heritage Commission, completed the research and prepared the inventory form/application.
“We are so pleased with this public recognition of Head School and Cemetery and the statewide attention it brings to Hooksett,” Northrup said. “The cemetery is quite special. Take a walk around someday. The beautiful craftsmanship of some of the ornate headstones, the simplicity of others, and the stories they tell, offer an interesting glimpse into early Hooksett.” Of the schoolhouse, she said, “Aren’t we lucky that future generations of children will have the schoolhouse to help them understand what school life was like for students in the 1800s. And the outhouse – children visiting are really fascinated with that.”
This is only the second property in Hooksett to attain State Register listing. The first was Robie’s Country Store.