On top of a hill overlooking downtown Peterborough, near the former site of St. Peter Church, a neighborhood formerly known as “The Overlook” has become a tight-knit community.
“We are just so lucky,” said resident Marie Cassady. “Everyone just gets along, and people enjoy spending time together. We’ve made so many friends, and we’re very happy here.”
Cassady and her husband Tony are from Arkansas, but they had a summer home in Rindge for many years.
“I just fell in love with New England after traveling up here,” Tony Cassady said.
After downsizing from the Arkansas home where they raised their family, the Cassadys moved into downtown Little Rock.
“We were on the 17th floor, and when we had lived there for a while, we realized we just loved being downtown and being able to walk places,” Marie Cassady said. “Then when we went back to the house in Rindge, which had always been a getaway, it was just too much of a getaway.”
When Tony retired, the Cassadys knew they would want to spend a lot of time traveling, particularly to visit their daughter and son-in-law in Los Angeles.
“In the condo in Little Rock, we loved that we could just walk out and close the door,” Marie said. “We were looking for something very low maintenance.”
The Cassadys bought their cottage in “The Overlook,” a neighborhood built on land formerly owned by the Catholic Diocese of New Hampshire. The former St. Peter’s Catholic church was razed in 2016, and the diocese sold the land to a developer.
“When we bought our house, we all had to sign a covenant promising we would not open a house of ill repute or anything like that,” Marie Cassady recalled.
The grounds are commonly owned and maintained by the neighborhood homeowners’ association.
“It’s really nice because we don’t have to mow the grass, we don’t have to do snow removal,” Tony Cassady said.
The Cassadys were the second occupants to move in to The Overlook. According to Marie, the neighborhood has seen very little turnover.
“Only two couples have left, and they both left to move into Rivermead,” Marie said.
“It wasn’t supposed to be a 55-plus community — anyone can buy here — but it just worked out that way,” Tony said. “It developed into a very close-knit community, and everybody just gets along.”
“We all look after one another’s plants when people go away, things like that,” Marie said.
She said most of the people who bought homes in the Overlook “didn’t know anyone in Peterborough.”
“There are people from Texas, we’re from Arkansas. One couple spends time in New York, there are people from Boston,” she said. “Most people moved here not knowing anyone.”
The neighborhood has frequent gatherings, some with the larger Vine Street neighborhood, and some with just The Overlook homes, which all back up to a common lane between the homes.
“We sit out there at the fire pit, and we just all hang out and drink wine,” Marie said.
According to the Cassadys, the whole neighborhood takes advantage of the downtown location.
“Everyone walks to town,” she said. “We all do. We walk down to the concerts on the river, down to the restaurants, all the time. We love sitting on the front porch and just listening to the concerts sometimes, too.”
The Cassadys and their neighbors also enjoy the open space at Peterborough Elementary School next door, and the nearby graveyard.
“We walk our dogs out there, and we love hearing the kids playing,” Cassady said.
Every room in the Cassady home is decked out for the holidays, including the bathrooms. In the corner of the living room, a tree is completely covered with Marie’s collection of glass ornaments from the family’s travels.
“My style definitely has a Southern flair,” she said with a laugh. “I think some of our neighbors were taken aback when I first put out my decorations; it’s a little different from what you usually see in New England.”
Every Overlook homeowner had the option of customizing their home, with some units slightly larger or smaller. Each home has a one-car garage and a basement, which the Cassadys use to store Marie’s collection of seasonal decorations.
“I decorate for every season,” she said. “My family knows they better not stand still, or they will end up with a bow on their head.”
The Cassadys opted to use the entire second floor for the primary bedroom, and the space that serves as a second bedroom in most of The Overlook homes is now Marie’s “dream closet.”
“It’s something I had always wanted, and finally getting a chance to design. It was a dream come true,” Marie said. “Tony has a little section.”
Twenty years ago, while living in Rindge, the Cassadys bought a painting depicting a village.
“When we moved here, we looked out the window and realized we could actually see that view,” Marie Cassady said. “It’s the Mariposa building, and porch on the Steele’s building, and we can see it from here, right out the window. It’s like it was meant to be.”
