DUNBARTON HISTORICAL AWARENESS
COMMITTEE
PRESENT: Rebecca and Bill Rolke, Ken Swayze, Bud and
Betty Ann Noyes, Mert Mann, Selectmen’s representative. Stan Hallinan had been contacted but had a
previous commitment tonight.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Relative to book sale- to date 260 books have been sold for a total of
$6500. Book availability is now on
Internet for all libraries in the state.
Several copies have been sold since this was done early in May.
MEETING WITH SELECTMEN MAY 19th: Bud and Bill Rolke attended this meeting at
which the selectmen had asked our committee to be present. They wished an update on the income from
book sales and the number sold. Above
info given to them. After some
discussion, the selectmen asked for $3900 to be returned to them (part of the
funding they had let us use). That
leaves the Committee with $2600 to meet any expenses we may have that
arise. This has been placed in the
check book for the Committee. The
Selectmen are also asking that our next payment be made in six (6) months and
every six (6) months thereafter. That
shall be in December and June of each year.
In response to our request for some assistance in surveying the
probable Putney cellar site on the Nasikas Conservation land, Les Hammond
offered that his son, Benjamin could do this as long as he gets permission from
his employer, Bartlett. Bud will get
some maps to Les Hammond to give to Benjamin and it is understood at this time
that the employer has given permission.
Membership: The Selectmen
feel that before they can appoint any new members to our committee that those
whose terms have not expired must decide if they wish to continue. They include 1) Tom Hathcote, 2) Debbie
Jore, 3) Harvey Provencher. It was
decided tonight that Ken would talk with Tom, Betty with Debbie and Bud with
Harvey. We will then get back to the
Selectmen with the results.
MEETING TIME AND FREQUENCIES:
A lengthy discussion ensued about the time of meetings and ultimately it
was decided to start at 7:30 P.M. instead of 8:00 and that the meeting would be
approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours, no longer.
It may not be necessary to meet every month, some thought the summer
could be taken off, but after talking it over it was felt since we would be
working on cellar holes we need the better weather to undertake this project.
ROGERS CELLARSITE: Les has
spoken with Wendy Dailey in relation to the Historical Society erecting a
plaque on Robert Rogers Road relative to this site. Copies of the letter sent in answer to the U.S. Army letter of
support for same distributed to all members of the Committee and to Patrick
Keon. Wendy has spoken with her Board
of Directors and at this time Mert reports that they are trying to make a
decision as to whether to go with a State or Federal Plaque. Mert will check with her relative to their
decision. Betty has asked Mert to
forward our offer to help in any way we can if they should need some
assistance. A follow-up letter will be
sent to the Army (Charles H. Briscoe) in the near future when some tentative
decisions have been reached.
CELLAR HOLES: Bud reported
on the work that had recently been done by a student as part of a Community
Service project for his High School work at Bishop Brady High School. Ian lives in town and his father helped him
do this. Three cellar holes were
researched, sketched and measured and we have copies of the work. Mr. Robert Jergenson, the father, has
volunteered to help us do more cellar holes in the future.
At this time, Bill and Rebecca are also interested in pursuing
cellar holes and will work with Bud on same—all going out together. Bud will get some potential sites and
information and requirements ready and get that to Bill and Rebecca.
Ken Swayze has volunteered to plot these sites on a special
topographical map of Dunbarton that Bud had brought to the meeting
tonight. This map contains lots and
boundaries all through town. Ken was
adamant that it would take him more than two weeks notification to do this.
Bud mentioned that he would dearly like to get to the Nashua
registry to check deeds but that it is a very time consuming activity and the
opportunity is rare. He estimates there
should be about 300 cellar sites in total to record. Some are already on a map from Where the Winds Blow Free, but not
all and exact location may not be correct.
Nashua is the only place that deeds from 1771 through 1822 can be
found. It was suggested tonight that a
list be made of those desired and sent to Nashua with a request that they pull
these and send them here. We can use
some of the money that we currently have for expenditures. Further discussion will follow on this
suggestion—at times deeds have to be pulled in order to find the sequential
changes and identify names one is seeking, therefore it is highly probable that
all of the deeds cannot be done at one time.
PASSOUTS: Bud then handed
out to each member an Inventory of Dunbarton Real Estate in 1761 which showed
the existence of 18 houses and one of 1763 which showed that there were 40
houses in town. This proves a rather
large growth in a short time. He also distributed
a set of sheets which covers the highways that were in town from when they were
first laid out in 1765 and through the years of the early 1800’s.
The meeting was then adjourned.
NEXT MEETING SHALL BE HELD ON JUNE 27, 2005 AT 7:30 P.M.
Minutes subject to review and acceptance.
May 24, 2005
Betty Ann Noyes
Chair and Secretary