According to page 366 of the History of Salem the house was moved "over 100 years ago". The book was written in 1907. It also states "It was brought here by Jonathan Pettingill, who afterwards lived in it. It has the original frame; is not boarded, but clapboards are fastened directly to the studding. Pettingill made coffins, which sold at $3 each." There is a photo of the house in the book, which names it as the home of Dr. V. N. Sikorsky.
photo from the book History of Salem, New Hampshire |
Today the home looks as if they took care of the clapboard problem, and it has been extensively renovated. The porch added by Dr. Sikorsky has been removed. The two chimneys are still visible. I couldn't take a photo from the same angle since there is a seven foot hedge blocking that view. Here is the home as it looks in 2012...
The former Windham meetinghouse in 2012 |
It is amazing to think about moving this two story building from Windham to Salem in the early 1800s. According to www.mapquest.com the building is now 8.75 miles from where it originally stood on Range Road, near the Cemetery on the Hill and Cobbett's Pond. I wonder if it was dismantled and re-erected, or moved in pieces? Perhaps we'll never know!
For more information:
The History of Salem, New Hampshire, by Edgar Gilbert, Concord, NH: Rumford Printing Company, 1907. This book is available to read entirely online at www.archive.org
For more information:
The History of Salem, New Hampshire, by Edgar Gilbert, Concord, NH: Rumford Printing Company, 1907. This book is available to read entirely online at www.archive.org
--------------------
Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
I have also done some research on this meetinghouse turned private residence. It is my understanding that the Windham meetinghouse had been dragged to Salem center by 10 or twenty team of oxen and using tree trunks as rollers. It has been some years since I took notes on this subject.
ReplyDeleteI believe that some research at the Salem library will tell the tale.
Blessings CWV