A blue Colonial-style dwelling sits perched just shy of the top of Main Street in Peterborough. Attached to the left side is a one-car garage and attached to the right is a small one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. The main part of the building is occupied by small businesses and office spaces. A mix of clients, patients and professionals bring frequent traffic through the front door.
For the last seven months, the building’s new owners, Emily and Don Primrose, have been working hard on various updates: repairing the roof, installing new windows, painting the exterior trim, updating bathrooms and removing unnecessary utilities. They also plan to plant two new trees to replace the ones removed due to disease.
Don Primrose, who has spent his career in building and carpentry, was able to target the parts of the building that needed some improvements. The building is estimated to have been built sometime between 1820 and 1837, making it approximately 200 years old.
“It has good bones,” he said.
Upon the acquisition of the building at 69 Main St. in January, the Primroses found an old framed postcard in one of the offices on the first floor. It had been left by Douglas Whitney, who owned the building for over 20 years. The postcard was given to him by Phil Runyon, a lawyer and former judge who Whitney purchased the building from in 1994. In order to take a a closer look, the Primroses had an enlarged copy of the image made. They were able to count 38 stars on one of the American flags hanging from the small front roof sheltering the granite steps.
“That version of the American flag flew from 1877 to 1890, with its most recently added star representing Colorado,” Don Primrose said.
It’s hard to know the exact year the original photo was taken, but the image still serves as a snapshot into life in the late 1800s. the Primroses believe the photo was taken on Independence Day or perhaps Flag Day. The enlarged image now hangs in first-floor hallway.
Emily Primrose compared researching the dwelling to piecing together a puzzle. With the help of the Monadnock Center for History and Culture, they were able to learn more about previous owners. The original purpose of the dwelling was twofold, serving as a home and as a medical practice for Dr. Daniel B Cutter and his family beginning in 1837. By 1850, four families lived in the building, and in 1892, the main house was subdivided into tenements. Offices were added in 1911. Dr. Donald Clark operated a medical practice from 1937 to 1953, and in 1947, Dr. Theodore Lee joined. Lee, who eventually owned the building, practiced there until 1981. Lawyers, massage therapists, a dentist, an appraiser and other professionals settled into the dwelling and made it a home for their businesses.
Until recently in the rear hallway of the first floor was an incinerator from the 1920s, once used by doctors. A small spiral staircase concealed from sight in the building’s servants’ quarters still stands behind a closed door. The more time the Primroses spend in the building, the more they seem to learn.
“Since we purchased it, three seasons have passed. More people walk by in summer,” Emily said.
The people who stroll by sometimes share their personal connection with the building. the Primroses have met past tenants, patients and even people who were born in the building. They love learning about the stories and history the dwelling holds.
In many ways, downtown Peterborough began to take form right around when the 69 Main St. was established. In 1832, Union Street was built, and in 1833 Peterborough Town Library became the first tax-supported public library in the world. Peterborough’s population continued to grow.
The future of the building is similar to its past.
“We want to provide an updated, safe, stately home to live in, or to conduct business from,” the Primroses shared.
Many tenants have made the building a home for their work life. Dan Krasen has rented out an office space above the garage for 19 years. Heather Murphy, a previous owner and current tenant, worked in the building as a teenager and returned when she began operating her massage therapy business. Her business, Monadnock Therapeutic Bodyworks and Down to Earth Herbs, operates out of the second floor.