Town of New Boston History

A Brief History of New Boston

Town Charter
The town began on January 14, 1736, when "a township of unappropriated lands of the Province" was granted to John Simpson and 52 others by "the Great and General Court of Assembly, for His Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay." Settlements were built in 1733 and the folks officially named their town New Boston on April 16, 1751. It incorporated on February 18, 1763, receiving it's Charter of Incorporation by Province of New Hampshire under authority of Govenor Benning Wentworth, acting for King George III of England.

Meetinghouses
Very soon after, the folks decided they needed a house of worship. On September 28, 1763, a meeting was held by the committees for the proprietors and the settlers. At the meeting, it was decided that there would be a meetinghouse on lot 79, "near the center of said lot, south of a red oak tree marked with the letter C, near the grave of a child buried there". The meetinghouse was completed in 1767. There is a marker in the cemetery at the exact location of the first building.

As the town grew, it was decided that a new church building was needed. On October 24, 1822, an association of 32 men was formed to be proprietors for building a new meetinghouse. Two acres of land was purchased from Ammi Dodge for $420. The new church was built and dedicated on Christmas, 1823, with Rev. Ephraim P. Bradford preaching the ceremony. That church stood on Meeting House Hill Road until it burned in 1900. In 1839, the town and church separated. The town no longer collected taxes to support the church, so in March of 1839, an Ecclesiatical Society of 116 members was formed, called "First Presbyterian Society of New Boston." In 1874, a chapel was built in the "lower village," at the current site of the New Boston Community Church next to the fire station. The church in the "lower village" burned in the great fire of 1887. It was soon replaced, and the furnishings from the old meetinghouse were moved down to the new building, including the bell that had been cast by Paul Revere. It was reported in a newspaper article from the State Planning & Development Commission, that the bell was purchased in 1826, and is the heaviest (1,415lbs) of 16 known Revere Bells located in New Hampshire. The old building on the hill was sold to Miss Lydia Atwood for $650. It was quite the tourist attraction until it burned. The Manchester Union newspaper of November 10, 1900 gives the account that the church steeple was struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. Originally, the fire was contained in the steeple, but later it spread, and the fire was seen as far away as Manchester.

The first Baptist meetinghouse in New Boston was situated in the northwest part of town about two miles from the village. A small building, only 40x32, it was erected and dedicated in 1805 with Rev. Josiah Stone as pastor.

After John Atwood became pastor in 1824, following the retirement of Elder Stone, Dr. John Whipple offered the Baptists a more convenient location in the village (on the current Town Common, facing the present Community Church). The new house was dedicated in February 1833 and served the worshipers well until it was destroyed in the great Village Fire of 1887. A new building was built on the same village site in Nov. 1889.

Increasing costs and dwindling membership caused the Baptists to dissolve in the early 1930s. The building was later dismantled and the land deeded to the Town as a perpetual common. The chandelier that once hung in the Baptist church, is now at the Historical Society. (details from Brandy Mitroff, NB Bulletin)

In the summer of 1967, a new group of individuals began meeting in the Community House (the old railroad station on Depot Street). In October of that year, the New Boston Baptist Fellowship was formed. By July 1970, the New Boston Baptist Church, Independent, was incorporated. In August 1971, the Church purchased land at the corner of Route 13 South and Lyndeboro Road where it stands today.

After the first Baptist church dissolved, the pastor of the Presbyterian church talked to his parrish about the need for a community church, and the "First Presbyterian Church of New Boston" became "New Boston Community Church" and the denomination was dropped in 1949. The church funded many community activities. It was renovated in 1953, and the house next to the town hall was purchased in 1960 to serve as a Parish House. The renovations were funded by the Mizpah Circle.

The Mizpah Circle started in 1869 and still exists today. It was created to help raise funds to beautify the church. Men and women would gather every other week during the winter to socialize. The cost was 5 cents for men and 3 cents for ladies. As the years went by, it became an afternoon circle, and a children's circle was started called "Willing Workers". The funds paid for many changes that were done to the church.

Written by Janet Chamberlain. Additional comments added from Brandy Mitroff's article in the New Boston Bulletin (September 1999) with some additional editing from David Rising.