Eric Tenney remembers when his love of the Civil War began.
There was a picture of his great-grandmother’s brother that hung in the living room of his great aunt’s home in Antrim. Malachi Richardson was the last member of his family to serve in the military – until Tenney joined the Navy and was enlisted three years during Vietnam – and there was just something that fascinated him about his ancestor. He always wanted to know more.
He learned that Richardson, who was from Dublin and the NH state flag carrier for the 13th NH Volunteer Infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor near Mechanicsville, Virginia and died June 1, 1864 due to his injuries.
But it opened up this yearning for more information about the battles that pitted brothers against one another and divided the country. It eventually brought him to Gettysburg, where he’s been a dozen times, and many other important battlefields all across the nation.
“That picture started it,” Tenney said.
In fact, Tenney has visited the site of every major battle with the exception of one – the Battle of Fort Donelson near the Tennessee-Kentucky border. So it’s safe to say what the former Antrim selectman and longtime resident has seen over the years is more than most have read about the Civil War.
He made his way to the Battle of Cold Harbor 10 years ago, but after coming across a detailed history about the 13th regiment’s role in the battle, Tenney embarked on another journey to Virginia where he walked the battlefield and estimated where Richardson was mortally injured.
It was a special moment for the Civil War buff – one of many during his countless journeys to points that make up the history of the war that shaped the United States.
“That’s a vacation to me, vising battlefields in the south,” Tenney said.
But just visiting wasn’t enough for Tenney. He embarked on a project that took 20 years, cataloging the battles of the war. He used “The War of the Rebellion” known as the most comprehensive and authoritative reference on Civil War operations. The 127 volumes are a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies. He borrowed the volumes from the Peterborough Town Library and now can pull up statistics on any regiment from his laptop with more than 30,000 records.
“I can take any regiment and give you the important statistics,” Tenney said. “It got so big I had to do east and west. That’s how passionate I am about the Civil War.”
Some may not know about Tenney’s affinity for the Civil War, but have seen him over the years at the family farmstand along Route 202 in Antrim.
The current Tenney Farm is actually the third in the family’s history. The first was on Old Pound Road with his great, great, great grandfather settling on the land, but it was not very fruitful as “the rocks were bigger than the trees,” Tenney said.
The next one was at the end of West Street and in 1954 his father acquired the land where the farm is today just off Route 202.
“My father said it was time for him to be independent and work for himself,” Tenney said. “He knew about this place because he grew up in Antrim.”
It was originally a dairy operation, but Tenney knew it wasn’t going to last.
“The word was out that small dairy farms weren’t going to work,” he said. “And I knew there was no future in dairy here.”
They planted their first crops in 1970 – corn, tomatoes and peppers – and sold it out of the old dairy barn that Tenney later renovated into his house next to the farmstand.
“I didn’t know anything about growing vegetables,” Tenney said. “My father told me a little of this and a little of that.”
Then they planted some more fields and then a few years later, added the greenhouses to expand the crop production and extend the growing season and built the current farmstand in 1978. These days, Tenney does a little of this and a little of that, but the day-to-day operations are run by his daughter Crista and her husband Chris. They came back to the area in the mid 1990s, but it wasn’t until he has a new aorta valve put in – after already having two heart attacks – that he stepped to the background to let the new generation fully take over the family business.
And keeping the family tradition that dates back to the early 1800s is important for Tenney and he’s grateful his daughter and son-in-law wanted to see it through. It’s not an easy lifestyle, but one that Tenney has enjoyed.
“It’s seven days a week when you’re in it,” he said. “That’s what it’s like being self employed.”
Tenney moved to Antrim when he was in fifth grade and outside of his time in the Navy, he’s lived there ever since. During his time in the service, he made two trips to the Mediterranean, but never went to Vietnam.
“I saw enough of the world when I was in the Navy,” he said.
He’s enjoyed the small town life and felt it was important to give back. He served as selectman three different times, but never in consecutive terms and two of those years were as a fill in when someone left the position.
Tenney said he learned a lot about budgets and was part of the group that helped put the town into current use. He never really thought about being a selectman, but when someone asked him to run he figured why not.
He spent 15 years on the water and sewer commission, other years as part of the planning board and ZBA, totaling more than 20 years of service to the town.
“I learned quite a bit about budgets and this and that,” Tenney said. “I guess I had a reputation for understanding government finances.”
These days he’s the treasurer of the Antrim Historical Society and that’s good enough for him. He likes history and having been a small business owner and his knowledge of town budgets makes him more than qualified for the position.
He enjoys watching the people come and go from the farmstand, especially during corn season – the crop that Tenney Farm is best known for and was the first they planted almost 50 years ago.
“That corn draws people in,” Tenney said.
Even though he’s slowed down quite a bit, he likes to keep tabs on what’s happening on the farm. And from his dairy barn converted house, he’s got the best view of it all.