Nearly every town in the Monadnock region has one – but when was the last time you visited your local historical society? Do you even know where it is located?
The word “society” may conjure up an elite and highly cultured or “stuffy” group. But in reality, it’s just an old-fashioned term associated with a club whose members are interested in collecting and preserving items from a town’s history.
Although all our local historical societies are worthy of mention, we are discussing the Jaffrey Historical Society, or JHS, and an exciting opportunity coming up very soon.
The JHS was founded as a community organization in 1958, dedicated to collecting and preserving historical memorabilia with a connection to the town to share with future generations. JHS currently has over 8,000 cataloged items searchable in a database, including documents, photos, tavern and business ledgers, Conant yearbooks, military uniforms, historic signs, and vintage hand tools. Many of our special treasures, including
Amos Fortune artifacts and evidence from the Dean Murder are currently on display in a special exhibit at the Civic Center through mid-April.
Among the society’s first missions was to save Schoolhouse #11 on Dublin Road. With Town permission, in 1960, the Society raised the funds to move the schoolhouse to its present location near the Meetinghouse, renovate and restore the building, and open it to the public. Now known as the “Little Red School House,” it has become a beloved part of Jaffrey Center and is open to the public in the summer with friendly JHS hosts who can give you a glimpse into the days of yesteryear.
Original Jaffrey firefighting equipment is preserved in the Monadnock #4 firehouse museum in Jaffrey Center – again, at JHS expense and with no taxpayer dollars. We also maintain Jaffrey’s original two horse-drawn hearses.
We also provide a community service. If you are doing some genealogical research and you want to see your grandfather’s senior picture in the Conant yearbook, the Jaffrey Historical Society has a collection and can help with that research. We answer several genealogical requests every month. Have a question about Jaffrey’s history? We’re on it. When did
electricity and phone service first come to Jaffrey? Which townspeople served in the military? What was on the town meeting warrant in 1962? Once, we even helped the town locate long-lost storm drains around Pratt Auditorium since we had the original blueprints.
All our historical documents and materials are stored in our archives and small museum in the basement of the Civic Center. However, we have outgrown this location. Additionally, susceptibility to flooding, humidity, and exposed pipes make this location extraordinarily risky. Although we have valued our relationship with the Civic Center since locating there in 1966, it doesn’t meet our current space needs. Our basement also suffers from not
meeting ADA-compliant accessibility standards and is not very visible. Informal polling shows a majority of Jaffrey residents don’t even know where we are located – or that we exist at all!
The JHS needs a new safe, accessible and visible location if we wish to continue our mission. This year, we have that chance. The old Jaffrey town office building, at 10 Goodnow Street, meets all our requirements and more – and the Town of Jaffrey is willing to lease the building to us.
This is a win-win situation for both sides. By maintaining ownership of the property, the Town retains possession of the large municipal parking area at the rear of the new Town Hall. By having an occupant, the Town is no longer footing the utility bills on the building and will bring in a modest rent. For the JHS, this means a new location that is accessible, environmentally secure, visible, and more than twice the size of our current location. By
leasing this building instead of trying to buy or build one, we will not take any property off the town tax rolls.
Article 17 on the Town Warrant this year authorizes the Selectmen to enter into five-year lease agreements of town property. Don’t worry, no one is leasing Humiston Field. State RSAs are complicated when it comes to this sort of thing – so this is the best option for all
parties.
Important to note, we are not asking for any taxpayer money in this endeavor. What we are asking for is for Jaffrey voters to attend Town Meeting on March 14 at Pratt Auditorium, and to vote “yes” on Article 17.
Membership information is on the website jaffreyhistory.org. Archival inquiries may be directed to bruce@jaffreyhistory.org or leave a message at 603-598-0120.
Thank you in advance for your support, and please vote “yes” on Article 17 at Town Meeting.
Peter Lambert is president of the Jaffrey Historical Society, and Bruce Hill is a former president and currently the archivist.