Welcome to the New Market Historical Society

Our goal is to tell Newmarket’s story, preserve its local artifacts, and sponsor historical events and educational opportunities.  Please consult our program of events for exact dates, times, and locations for our meetings and events as they have recently changed. 

The public is always welcome to attend our educational meetings, which are free except for select special events.

Donations are always welcomed and greatly appreciated!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

Our  2020 programs have been rescheduled to next year due to public health concerns of the Corona Virus spread and the imposed limitations during the current situation as a spike continues.

Listening to our downtown businesses ….this year,  we are sorry to say that our SANTA has crawled to a stop.

Hopefully 2021 will see our Pub Crawl re-energized.   During the upcoming winter months, please Stay Healthy and Stay Safe.

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We wish to thank  Proulx Oil and Propane,  and  Chinburg Builders   both whom generously donated funds

for our efforts to acquire new artifacts and preserve those manuscripts, diaries, letters, and articles already in our collection.  

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Although the museum is closed we are still active.

1) For the past several years the third graders have toured the museum as they learn about Newmarket’s history; however this year — as they can’t come to us, we are going to them.   Channel 13 has filmed some of our exhibits as we introduce the students to artifacts from Newmarket’s past.  The film will be sent to the the school to be incorporated into their curriculum.

2) We have created three new exhibits from recent donations:

                        * A history of lighting from the pine knots of  Native Americans, to the candles and lamp oil of the first settlers, to the first light bulbs in town, to today’s “smart bulb”; 

                        *  A tale of  Newmarket womens’ suffrage which was set around the tea table and not the picket lines;

                         *  From last century’s Newmarket milk bottles, we can ponder the many dairy farms (now gone) that flourished here during the first half of the 1900s.

3) We are currently transcribing our collection of Wentworth Cheswill’s papers with the help of  John Herman and many Newmarket volunteers.

4) Michael Provost and Linda Jayes are  in the process transcribing several diaries in our collection.

5) From the Estate of Bert Langley came photographs and papers recently donated by Rosemary Wojnar shortly before her passing.  Research into this collection has resulted in a rich history of many of the people living on South Main Street—from before the Civil War until the mid 1900s.   

6) The recently restored portrait of Samuel Adams Shackford (done in 1831 when he was 21 years old) has inspired a comprehensive study into Shackford family history.  One of the most influential families in town for over 100 years, they moved to Newmarket in 1801.  

7) The videos recently started by Dr. Kimberly Alexander into the textiles in our collection.  She will be doing a series which we plan on posting on this website.

Photos taken 9:30 pm on Friday, May 8th….Due to Covid -19, the streets in May had never been so empty

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