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Properties added to State Register

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:12:00 GMT

The New Hampshire Department of Historical Resources announced that 12 properties have recently been added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, including three in Hooksett and one in Allenstown.

The New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places recognizes and honors properties that are meaningful in the history, architecture, archeology, engineering or traditions of New Hampshire’s residents and communities. It is one part of the state’s efforts to encourage public and private efforts to identify and protect historically significant properties throughout New Hampshire.

“These irreplaceable resources are the physical manifestation of our state’s history and identity,” said New Hampshire’s state historic preservation officer Elizabeth Muzzey. “They create New Hampshire’s distinct identity and serve as the backbone to the state’s heritage tourism economy.”

The most recent additions to the New Hampshire State Register are:

• Head Chapel and Cemetery, Hooksett. Originally an 1839 school, the Head Chapel was remodeled in 1922 to serve as a chapel for the cemetery, which has been in use since 1800. The chapel was a model school, being not only one of the most substantial schools in the area and representative of local brick manufacturing, but also remains one of the most intact one-room schoolhouses left in the region.

• Hooksett Village Bridge, Hooksett. Known locally as the “Lilac Bridge,” this 1909 structure is one of the state’s nine surviving metal truss bridges designed by engineer John William Storrs, the only bridge design specialist in the state in the early 20th century. The three-high-span truss bridges an important crossing of the Merrimack River, first bridged after 1804 by the proprietors of the Londonderry Turnpike.

Arah W. Prescott Library, Hooksett. Prominent citizen Arah W. Prescott donated the funds to build the town library in 1909, and designed the building himself. Completed in 1910, the building and the institution it houses have contributed significantly to the education of the citizens of Hooksett.

• Allenstown Public Library, Allenstown. Erected circa 1934- 35 by Works Progress Administration workers, this Colonial Revival structure is the only building in Allenstown constructed expressly as a library. The design by Harold, Homes, Owen, Inc. has well served the community for more than 70 years.

Anyone wishing to nominate a property to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places must research the history of the nominated property and document it fully on individual inventory forms from the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Having a property listed in the Register does not impose restrictions on private property owners. For more information, visit http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr

New Hampshire’s Division of Historical Resources, the “State Historic Preservation Office,” was established in 1974 in order to preserve the historical, archaeological, architectural and cultural resources of New Hampshire that are among the state’s most important environmental assets. Historic preservation promotes the use, understanding and conservation of such resources for the education, inspiration, pleasure and enrichment of New Hampshire’s citizens. For more information, visit www.nh.gov/nhdr or call 271-3483.

Hooksett's Lilac Bridge listed on State Register

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:20:00 GMT

BY KATHIE NORTHRUP

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has recognized Hooksett’s Lilac Bridge as an important state resource and approved its listing to the State Register of Historic Places on April 28.

Designed by John W. Storrs, New Hampshire’s only specialist in bridge design during the early 20th century, it is the state’s only surviving example of a threespan High Pratt truss bridge.

Prior to 1805, travelers and residents used a ferry to cross the Merrimack River in the Hooksett village area.

The Londonderry Turnpike, which ran from Concord to the Massachussets state line, brought travelers and large quantities of goods through the village. The turnpike was privately funded by the Londonderry Turnpike Corporation, which charged tolls along the route.

In 1805 an act of the Legislature allowed the erection of a toll bridge at “Islehookset Falls,” where the turnpike crossed the Merrimack River. The corporation erected the first bridge in 1805, and it immediately put the ferry out of business. The corporation sold the bridge in 1853 to the town of Hooksett (incorporated in 1822) for $1,640, and toll charges were removed.

On Sept. 20, 1857, the old turnpike bridge burned, was rebuilt and was destroyed again in a flood two years later. The third bridge on the site was a three-span wood truss bridge completed in 1859. In 1908, town fathers questioned its safety. They hired John Williams Storrs, a bridge designer/engineer, to prepare a condition assessment.

In July 1908, he reported: “The bridge has been over strained and computations show it to be structurally weak. I would advise immediately that you limit the loads to the lightest possible. Have automobiles go slow, and horses walk.”

In 1909, voters authorized the construction of a new steel highway bridge at a cost not to exceed $26,000. The bridge opened for traffic in early November 1909. A newspaper article reported that the “citizens of Hooksett are to be congratulated upon having one of the best and most thoroughly constructed up-to-date bridges in this part of the country.”

In the flood of March 1936, a three-span wooden railroad bridge upstream of the highway bridge was swept away. One portion knocked out the southern span of the steel bridge. Remnants of the steel span lodged in the river downstream. When the river is low, one can still see those remnants today.

For about a month, Hooksett residents could not cross the Merrimack without traveling to Concord or Manchester.

By April, a footbridge along the B&M trestle was constructed for use by pedestrians. The southern span of the steel bridge was rebuilt by Works Progress Administration workers by Sept. 15, 1936, and the bridge opened once again to traffic.

The bridge served Hooksett well until the late 1960s, when safety concerns began to surface.

In December 1969, the weight limit was reduced because of a weakness found when the bridge was being repaired. At the 1972 Town Meeting, funds for the town’s share of a new bridge were requested. The new Memorial Bridge opened on July 27, 1976. The steel bridge ended its first phase of service to the town. In the 1990s a proposal to dismantle the bridge was defeated and plans to rehabilitate it were ultimately abandoned.

The Town Council renamed it The Lilac Bridge in 1997 at the suggestion of Grace Pomeroy, then president of the Hooksett Historical Society. It is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and in 2000 was designated an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures.

Kathie Northrup, chairman of the Hooksett Heritage Commission, completed the research and prepared the inventory form/application.

Listing of the Lilac Bridge, along with other sites, will be acknowledged at a ceremony to be held at the Robie’s end of the bridge at noon on Hooksett Heritage Day, Saturday, May 17.

Head School and cemetery on Historic Register

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:06:00 GMT

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.

Proposed building worries condo owners

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:27:00 GMT

BY SUSAN WARE

Residents of the Mount St. Mary’s Condominiums are gearing up to fight a proposed 73-unit building with underground parking that Brady Sullivan LLC wants to construct 100 feet from the historic landmark’s back door.

On Friday, Aug. 3, residents rallied in the ballroom to strategize against the developer, who also built their units.

“We all feel like we were lied to. Around here, we call them ‘Shady Sullivan,’” said Lori Dupont, a Mount St. Mary’s resident with a wooded view that could soon look out onto an apartment building.

Dupont and others allege they asked Brady Sullivan’s sales team if there were plans to build directly behind their building, especially in light of the heavy construction going on at University Heights next door. Dupont said they all were told no.

“There are a lot of people here that can attest to being deceived by Brady Sullivan’s sales staff. We asked if anything was ever planned to be built directly behind Mount Saint Mary and our saleswoman looked us dead in the eye and said ‘no, never,’” said resident Sean Joncas.

For Dupont, the construction of these apartments will mean a change of quality of life – more traffic and congestion, and a cherished wooded view that will no longer exist.

“The sales staff assured me that if they ever built behind us, they would leave a 150-foot tree line and that it would be something decent. Now, if this thing gets built, my unit will be worthless,” she said. In September the Planning Board asked Brady Sullivan LLC to have an independent study done as to how these two buildings would affect property values at Mount St. Mary’s. Dupont said they are still waiting for results.

When asked about residents’ claims that sales staff deceived them, Arthur Sullivan, principal and partner at Brady Sullivan LLC, said he has no idea what they are talking about.

“I don’t know anything about that. I don’t remember ever making any promises of that nature,” said Sullivan.

Dupont said she has contacted all of the 73 units in Mount St. Mary’s and said all are on board.

“We are going to fight this tooth and nail. We were promised one thing, and now we are getting something else. I’m really angry about this, angry that I am going to have to look at a Brady Sullivan slum everyday,” said Dupont.

John Deachman, an attorney for Brady Sullivan LLC, said he has met with residents several times and their input is critical to this plan. Deachman said there are several plans on the table, because they are looking at what the best option is.

“We want to find a project that meets as many goals as possible,” said Deachman.

As for the residents’ claims that sales staff deceived them, Deachman said he knows nothing about that.

“I don’t have any idea what they might have been promised because I wasn’t involved,” he said.

Joncas and Dupont said meetings with Brady Sullivan LLC representatives have been fruitless.

“We’ve yet to have a proper representative from Brady Sullivan come to a meeting at the building or the town. All we get is a Brady Sullivan lawyer that is quick to say he doesn’t know anything and an engineering team that takes notes but has yet to apply any of our suggestions,” said Joncas.

Engineers for Brady Sullivan LLC are preparing to go before the Technical Review Committee in September.

Although discussion of this plan began last fall, it’s still in the beginning stages, said Deachman.

“I think it’s shameful what Brady Sullivan is doing here and elsewhere. The beauty of one of Hooksett’s most historic pieces is at stake for greed. This new building, given its sandwiched location, will become a slum. I think if the town of Hooksett has any interest in preserving this area or dignity they’ll tell Brady Sullivan to get lost,” said Joncas.

Big plans for Hooksett

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:01:00 GMT

BY NICHOLAS BROWN

At least one Hooksett Village resident wants to use the wave of commercial development anticipated to hit the Interstate 93 Exit 11 area to transform the sleepy Hooksett Village into a bustling hamlet.

Alden Beauchemin, a local land use consultant who owns about nine acres on Route 3A and Hackett Hill Road – a property fit snugly between the proposed new developments and the Village – recently looked to the Hooksett Planning Board for support of his plans.

He presented preliminary plans for pedestrian walkways, attractive road signs, an expanded Robie’s Country Store with a dock system and historical tours.

Beauchemin said he wants to highlight the rich history of the Village, where in 1839 Henry David Thorough visited and later recounted his stop in Hooksett in “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.” He’s also been talking with members of the Hooksett Historical Society about the possibility of a Village museum.

“I don’t know whether this will all happen, but I want to plant some seeds,” said Beauchemin. “As you build community, economic development follows.”

Beauchemin also envisions riverboats, once a common sight from the shores of the Merrimack, and sea planes that could take sportsmen on hunting and fishing expeditions.

All of this and more, said Beauchemin, wouldn’t be possible without without the nearby economic development, including multiple planned hotels, that could follow Cabela’s, which is currently negotiating the terms of an $18 million bond with the town to spark the Exit 11 development district.

“The way we see it, everything I’m focusing on in the Village and so forth is really contingent on Cabela’s,” Beauchemin said.

On Monday, April 30, Planning Board members voted unanimously to send a letter to Beauchemin stating they like the preliminary plans and would be willing to consider altering local zoning regulations at some point to accommodate the project.

But members also warned the scope of Beauchemin’s plans will also require some wide participation from private developers and other town departments and state agencies.

“These are all great plans, but if one party doesn’t agree, it won’t all fall into place,” said board member Robert Duhaime.

Beauchemin said pedestrian walkways – including one that would go through his property, under Route 3 and north into the Village by the Merrimack – are critical to the plans.

“A village without pedestrian traffic really isn’t a village,” he said.

The state Department of Transportation has already been working with local engineering firm TF Moran, which has been hired by Cabela’s to design upgrades both to Hackett Hill and Route 3A. If those pedestrian walkways aren’t worked into those plans now, warned planning board members, the project could stall.

“If you don’t incorporate the sidewalks now,” said Planning Board Chairman *** Marshall, “you’re going to close the door because you’re not going to get those back again.”

Marshall also warned that local and state environmental agencies could take issues with sidewalks Beauchemin envisions to run along the east side of Route 3A.

He said keys to making the whole project happen will be community support and private money.

“Of course the ultimate thing is you need bucks,” he said. “It’s a tough thing in this town to raise money for things like this.”

Marshall urged Beauchemin – who presented a list of about 20 local residents who might be interested in the project – to present his plans to the town council and suggest it form some sort of “Village committee.”