Greenfield resident Lenny Cornwell presents a brief history of his town on the eve of the 225th anniversary celebration.
The first known pioneers of the area that would eventually become Greenfield settled onto their lots as early as 1766. Alexander Parker lived on Society Land that was a large unclaimed wilderness surrounded by already incorporated towns. He was on the Russell Hill area of Crotched Mountain.
Simeon Fletcher was actually living in Lyndeborough in the 1770s. He was the first man in the settlement to cut enough hay for a cow. He built his house of sawn lumber when there was a sawmill nearby.
Prior to 1771, Amos Whittemore built on land near where the old East Road and the New Boston Road intersect. Today, there is a brick house behind where his cabin stood.
In 1791 the state of New Hampshire granted incorporation to petitioners for an area comprising land from Lyndeborough, Peterborough, Lyndeborough Slip and Society Land. The boundary on the northeast to southeast was very irregular as it went around some properties. In 1792, some of the owners in the northeast petitioned the state to have their land be in Francestown. This was granted, and the folks then happily resided in Francestown.
Building on the wooden Meeting House commenced in 1795. The exterior was completed in 1798 while the interior was finished later. The entire building was moved a quarter turn in 1867. Two men, one horse, a huge lever, some pulleys, ropes and wooden rollers did the job. Additions and renovations have continued to the present. The Meeting House is on the State Register of Historic Places and has a state marker out front.
The early settlers had to be most enterprising. Some of them made shingle and boat oars to sell in Salem, Massachusetts. Hops were a big crop and were marketed in Boston. In fact, Greenfield was the largest grower of hops in Hillsborough County ! Carriages and wagons were also built in town. There were many sawmills located on brooks . Sheep and wool were also at one time a big commodity. Milk, eggs, poultry, ice, and tourism were other economic drivers for the Greenfield citizenry.
Steven Wyman disappeared in 1828. He had married a young Greenfield woman, and the couple had some children. There had been a powder house explosion and Steven had been burned severely on the hand. His clothes, but no body, were found by a lake thereby leading to the speculation that a murder had transpired; however, his shirt was not with the clothing. The speculation was fueled by the knowledge that Steven had large outstanding debts. He had just collected a substantial amount of money, but did not use it to off-set his debts. A year later, Steven was seen by someone in Canada, someone familiar with his particular markings. Twenty years later, both he and his wife were seen in New York City.
Several schools existed within Greenfield so the students would not have a walk of more than a mile and three quarters to two miles to travel to school. Horace Greenley attended one session while he was visiting at his aunt’s in town. In later years, high school students attended school in surrounding towns. The students either boarded or took the train ( later, the bus ) to the high school. Students had the option of which high school to attend.
Many of the old roads/paths traversed high ground to avoid wetter areas. As more settlers and larger wagons appeared, it was easier to haul over flatter ground. Corduroy roads were made by using logs put down to travel on top of the logs or to fill over with gravel. The County Road connected several towns. The Forest Road was intended as a major roadway connecting Charlestown and Nashua, both in New Hampshire.
This was also a section of the Boston, MA, to Saratoga, NY, road.
The covered bridge between Hancock and Greenfield washed away in the 1936 flood. The State of New Hampshire replaced the covered bridge, replicating it as closely as possible. This was the first such covered bridge restoration like that. The bridge was rebuilt as a Federal Emergency Relief Administration Project. In 1961, a blinking traffic light was installed downtown as traffic was becoming increasingly heavier.
Among the many families of the village were the Bowers. Herbert and Phoebe Bowers eventually had twelve children in Greenfield. In the mid- 1800’s, several of the children caught “Gold Fever” and headed westward. Not only the young men, but the daughters as well. Of the twelve off-spring, ten traveled west to San Francisco and San Bernadino, California and the Prescott, Arizona Territory. Much is known about the adventures of the off-spring from the many accounts existing.
The Oak Park Fair Association was started in 1875 by a group of area townsmen. Stock was sold. The fair ran for ten years. By 1894, all buildings were town down. The New Oak Park Fair Association was formed in 1899. Baseball games, horse racing , and other entertainment were popular. Special trains from Boston and other cities ran to Oak Park.
The organizational structure of the fair ended in 1815, and a Hillsborough County Fair Association was formed in 1925. The Whing Ding, a favorite area summer event, was started in 1957 and ended in 1977. A large parade, chicken barbecue, street dance, and fireworks were big draws.
Crowds reached three to five thousand. Some attractions over the years were a Nike Ajax missile in 1959, a fifty star flag from D.C. and the helicopter transporting it, and parachuters.
Greenfield State Park opened in 1964, having at the time the most camp sites ( 252 ) available. This provided a boost to the Greenfield economy as, for many years, the park was filled to capacity as people planned to camp there for the Fourth of July.
Harry Atwood lived in Greenfield for a while. He erected a stone walled house in town; the house had iron bars in the windows. Harry had a reputation as a “con man”, and seemed to always be promoting a money making scheme. He also trained with the Wright Brothers at their school.
In 1911, he landed on the White House lawn and President Taft invited him in for lunch. Amelia Earhart visited him in Greenfield.
Harry allowed only Amelia and her chauffeur into the house, but made her husband whom Harry disliked, stay outside.
Originally, the Crotched Mountain Center was developed as a hospital serving the disabled, especially children. Later, a school for the deaf was also added. The Center was initially designed to be a self-supporting community with schools, housing, and a dairy farm. Crotched Mountain taught regular classes as well as sign language and mobility for the disabled students. Eventually, the center accepted adult patients as well.
Now, Crotched Mountain Center is a leading severe head trauma center/ rehabilitation facility. The site was specifically selected since it was believed that the air atop the mountain was healthier for the patients.
Today, though, the air quality is affected by pollution.
Dr. Fred Coville, a Greenfield resident worked for the USDA as a botanist. He had land on Crotched Mountain and located some tall blueberry plants there. He decided to see whether the taller plants could be cultivated into more productive and taller specimens. Several plants were selected and given names of townspeople. Working in New Jersey with Elizabeth White, several varieties were hybridized. These hybrids were the fore bearers of all of today’s hight bush blueberries. 2016 marks the hundredth year anniversary of this development.