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Town of Weare

15 Flanders Memorial Road
603-529-7575

Town History

To preserve the annuals of Weare was an idea long cherished by the citizens. Josiah G. Dearborn and Abner P. Collins each began collecting historical facts and family records about 1850; but a town history was not written. After years of waiting, a meeting was held at the town-house, March 1, 1882, to take measures to prepare and publish one. Twenty-eight men were present; John L. Hadley was chairman, and Albert B. Johnson secretary. They selected a general committee of twenty-six persons to aid in the work, and a publishing committee, consisting of David Cross, Josiah G. Dearborn, Abner P. Collins, Robert Peaslee and Sylvester C. Gould, who were to collect material, write the book or procure a writer, and publish the same when authorized by the town.

At the annual town-meeting, March 14, 1882 five hundred dollars was appropriated towards paying the preliminary expenses, to be expended by the publishing committee, and John L. Hadley, Albert B. Johnson, Abner P. Collins and Robert Peaslee were chosen a finance committee to approve the bills. Under this arrangement many circulars were distributed, a large amount of material gathered and a writer engaged.

The Olden Times


Our early settlers, as has been told, resided in log cabins. They procured their food by tilling the land, hunting and fishing. They were crude farmers. At first they could not plow their fields, by reason of the stumps and logs. They dug the soil and hoed in their seed with a clumsy hoe, made by the common blacksmith. It required hurculean strength to wield it. They had no carts, and the manure, shoveled with coarse wooden shovels, was borne to the field in rough shods, or lugged in baskets on their shoulders. The women and girls often worked in the fields. They could drive oxen, hold plow, shovel, plant potatoes and corn, hoe, mow, reap and bind, harvest, take care of the barn and split wood at the door as well as the men.

But often farm products were scanty. Game from the woods and fish from the ponds, streams and Amoskeag falls were then a great help. At first, their facilities for cooking were very crude, it having to be done by the fire in the great, stone fire-place.