Old Meeting House in Francestown, New Hampshire - Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed in Francestown, New Hampshire. 

The Old Meeting House of Francestown is across the street from the Francestown town hall.  It's construction was begun during the Revolutionary War, but halted during the conflict and a building was not finished until 1801.  The bell was hung in 1808.  The steeple was added in 1837, when the building was lifted and turned to face the crossroads.  A new steeple with a tall spire was added in 1855, with a new bell and a clock.  I'm guessing that the weathervane dates from this time of this new addition. 

In the 2007 town report for Francestown, New Hampshire the town historian, Kris Holmes, stated that the Old Meeting House had some renovations, including repairs to the steeple and weathervane, several doors and a new bathroom.   In the Francestown Heritage Museum you can see an old ball (the gilded globe from the top of this weathervane) that was removed from the weathervane for repairs in the 1980s.  This gilded ball must be a replacement.

The meetinghouse was completely repainted, from the base to the top of the steeple in 2018.

This weathervane is more simple than the one across the street on the town hall. It is gilded from the ball to the arrow, including the letters for the cardinal points.  It is about 10 to 15 years older than the town hall weathervane, which could have been mass produced at a weathervane factory in Massachusetts. 

The Old Meeting House, Francestown, New Hampshire - https://www.francestownmeetinghouse.org/  

The Old Meeting House Facebook page -  https://www.facebook.com/Old-Meeting-House-103313896437756/   

Click here to see almost 450 Weathervane Wednesday posts featuring weathervanes from around the world (mostly New England): 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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Cite/Link to this post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Old Meeting House in Francestown, New Hampshire - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 16, 2020, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/12/old-meeting-house-in-francestown-new.html: accessed [access date]). 

Hunting with a Spear - Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was spotted on a barn on New Boston Road (Route 136) in Francestown, New Hampshire.   It appears to be a hunter with a spear on a running horse.  Is it a circus performer? An early depiction of a Native American?  

This two dimensional black metal weathervane stands out very clear against the sky as you pass by this farmstead in Francestown.  It appears to be original to the building, but I could not find any history of this weathervane online.  19th century depictions of Native Americans on weathervanes are similar, but often folk art is homemade copies of weathervanes seen elsewhere. 

See the links below for depictions of Native people on weathervanes.  Recently the famous weathervane of Rev. Eleazar Wheelock and the Native American was removed by Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire for it's racist interpretation of the college history, and has not been replaced yet. 

Tewksbury, Massachusetts State Hospital -   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/08/weathervane-wednesday-another-indian.html  

"Wheelock and the Indian Under the Pine", Dartmouth University -   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/weathervane-wednesday-above-university.html   

Town Hall, Rowley, Massachusetts-  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/04/weathervane-wednesday-above-old-town.html   

"The Lion Killer" at the Shelburne Museum, Vermont -   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/04/weathervane-wednesday-lion-killer.html   

Another Native American weathervane from the Shelburn Museum -   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/weathervane-wednesday-three-on-one-barn.html  

Click here here to see over 425 weathervanes from around the world (mostly New England):

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday 

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Cite/Link to this post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Hunting with a Spear - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 2, 2020, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/12/hunting-with-spear-weathervane-wednesday.html: accessed [access date]).