Quick History Stops: Southern New Hampshire

Last October, I made a few Quick History Stops in Southern New Hampshire on the border with Massachusetts just north of Fitchburg, MA. This fun day trip, which included longer stops at Cathedral of the Pines and Historic New England’s Barrett House, also featured apple picking at Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard, climbing Mount Kidder, and visiting the childhood home of Uncle Sam.

Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard

In Greenville, NH is pick-your-own venue Washburn’s Windy Hill Orchard. While this business is about the same age as me, the tradition of apple orchards in New England goes back four hundred years. According to New England Apple Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to hyping the local apple industry, “earliest record of cultivated apples in New England appeared in 1623, just three years after the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock”. Besides the opportunity to pick McIntosh, Cortland, Red Delicious, and Macoun from over seven hundred trees, each color-coordinated according to its variety, the farm sells apple cider donuts, gords, and other locally made treats from its shop and a cute concession stand. Farm animals, a corn maze, and hay rides complete the family-friendly fall festivities.

Scenic View of Boston on Kidder Mountain

At just over eighteen hundred feet, Kidder Mountain is a moderate climb with a scenic view. Located in New Ipswich, just down the road from Historic New England’s Barrett House, the glimpse of Boston at the peak of the mountain shrinks the distance between New England’s busiest city and the quiet rural town. The trails are currently maintained by the Monadnock Snomoles, a snowmobile club with eighty miles of trails throughout Southern New Hampshire. The mountain receives its name for Colonel Reuben Kidder, who lived from 1723 to 1793 and is buried in New Ipswich. Not much is known about his life. His father, Thomas Kidder, died in 1729 when Kidder was six years old. His mother, Joanna Keyes Kidder Fitch, remarried in 1732. Kidder married Susanna Burge of Westford, MA in 1754 when he was twenty-nine years old, and they had twelve children together, all of whom survived to adulthood. He served for at least three years in the American Revolutionary War while in his fifties.

Uncle Sam House

Meat inspector Samuel Wilson supplied his beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. He branded the sides of his wooden barrels (similar to those made by the cooper at Strawbery Banke) with the initials U.S., which soldiers joked were the initials for “Uncle Sam”. While the story about the origin of Uncle Sam is disputed, he really did grow up in a small house in Monson, New Hampshire. Another well-known Uncle Sam site is a memorial statue near his birthplace in Arlington, MA, which I have also visited while riding on the Minuteman Bikeway.