New England, Part 4 (A Little History Too)

New England, with some of the earliest colonies in a place that would later become the United States, harbored hundreds of years of history. The people there also appreciated those ties to the past. Most of my previous trips through the region hugged the coast. I relished an opportunity to wander inland to places less tread by tourists. The history there may not have been as memorable as its coastal cousins. Nonetheless it unfolded continuously and intensely since colonial times.

Scenic Hancock, New Hampshire. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Hancock, New Hampshire Town Square

Every little rural town oozed Eighteenth Century charm. We must have driven through hundreds of hamlets on backcountry roads taking the straightest line between races. However, no line truly ran straight. They all seemed to follow old colonial paths that followed ancient Native American trails that followed tracks through the forest blazed by animals millennia ago.

Hancock, New Hampshire (map) seemed to follow the typical model of a New England settlement. It included the usual town square, gazebo and protestant church with requisite steeple. Revolutionary War veterans settled this place and named it for John Hancock, “signer of the Declaration of Independence (who happened to own nearly a thousand acres within the town boundaries), [although] there is no evidence that Governor Hancock ever visited or benefited the community in any way.”

We stayed overnight in Hancock because our race took place in a nearby state park the next morning. I walked around and took a few photos. Otherwise we would have driven through Hancock without stopping to appreciate it, like we did with countless other Hancock equivalents, similarly attractive and historic.


Springfield Armory

Springfield Armory National Historic site in Springfield, Massachusetts. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

I’ve gotten in the habit of looking for National Park Service properties before each trip. Oftentimes I find hidden gems. NPS listed scores of options in New England although they tended to congregate along the coast. Inland, pickings seemed a lot slimmer. The Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Massachusetts caught my eye though. It looked interesting (map). It also fell pretty close to our intended route.

The Armory became a new nation’s primary arsenal during the Revolutionary War. “For nearly two centuries, the US Armed Forces and American industry looked to Springfield Armory for innovative engineering and superior firearms.” It also included the “world’s largest historic US military small arms collection.” Too bad I didn’t get to see it.

If I collected National Park Service passport stamps, a hobby I know some 12MC readers enjoy, I probably would have paid closer attention to the website. The armory closed on Tuesdays until Memorial Day. It never dawned on me that a park would close on a Tuesday. So there we stood outside of this large edifice. I took a few photos because we were already there and what else were we supposed to do. Then we moved on to other activities we’d planned for Springfield.

The whole setup felt kind-of weird too. The armory shared a campus with a local community college. Visitors had to wind their way around to the back of the school, and past people directing traffic who made sure everyone parked in the right spot.

I probably don’t care enough about firearms to go back although I certainly enjoy wandering outside for a few moments on a beautiful day.


Mark Twain House

Mark Twain House in Hartford, Connecticut. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

I guess I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), lived in Connecticut for many years. Nonetheless his writing drew more inspiration from his formative years in Missouri, growing up along the Mississippi River. Still, themes of New England crept into books occasionally such as in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

He lived in a fancy house in Hartford for seventeen years, 1874 to 1891 (map). The home has since been preserved as the Mark Twain House and Museum. Some of his most influential and best-known works came out of the upper-floor study on that property. Those treasures included The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Life on the Mississippi, and of course the aforementioned Connecticut Yankee.

The tour wound through the interior of Twain’s home although they didn’t allow indoor photographs. The 12MC audience will have to take my word that it was pretty impressive inside, or simply examine the many photos plainly visible on the Intertubes.

The docent explained that Twain was a lousy businessman in spite of his success as an author. The house actually belonged to his wife who came from a very wealthy family. She owned it outright in her name. Otherwise Twain would have lost the house during bankruptcy.


Air Line Trail

Air Line Trail in Connecticut. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

I mentioned the Air Line Trail, its proximity to the Connecticut-Massachusetts-Rhode Island Tripoint and the infamous 4-train collision that happened there in Of Course Geo-Oddities. It began as the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad (NHM&W) in 1873. It served as a high speed corridor between Boston and New York City. According to the Air Line State Park Trail site, the name came from an imaginary shortest distance “through the air” between those two cities. While completing that theoretical line proved impossible, portions did adhere to the standard and requiring great cuts, fills and bridges to tame the terrain. This railroad made quite a profit for awhile.

“Successful businessmen and prominent citizens, including President Benjamin Harrison, rode this increasingly well known line that had gained its name as it sped across Eastern Connecticut with its seemingly luminescent cars being easily recognized – especially at twilight.”

The Air Line became a marvel of the Industrial Revolution, like so many other endeavors that took root in 19th century New England. However, technology gradually overcame the usefulness of the Air Line. Now the former rail bed serves as a linear park, for walkers, bikers and equestrians to enjoy.


Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

I had so much fun at the Woodrow Wilson birthplace a few months ago that I decided to check out the lifelong home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We drove to Hyde Park, New York (map). Technically this wasn’t New England although it seemed close enough so I kept it on the list.

The residence had been preserved as part of his Presidential Library and Museum. There were distinct differences between Wilson’s home and Roosevelt’s abode. Woodrow Wilson grew up as the son of a minister and his home reflected a certain modesty. FDR lived on what would accurately be described as an “estate” called Springwood. It occupied an entire square mile of land (2.6 square kilometres). He came from a distinguished family and his father increased the family fortune even farther through coal and railroad interests.

Roosevelt became the first president to designate a presidential library to hold his records. He built the library on his estate and kept an office there that he used during trips to Hyde Park while president. Some of his Fireside Chat radio broadcasts took place in the library. His original office remained untouched after he passed away in 1945 and it became a permanent exhibit, an integral part of the museum. Prior to FDR, presidential papers didn’t necessarily find a permanent home. They were personal property of each president and many records became lost over time.

Roosevelt set a precedent by donating his papers to the American people along with a means for public access by designating a permanent library. He then went a step further by donated his entire estate to the government with the understanding that he and his immediate family could remain there indefinitely. The family relinquished the property soon after his death.


Reminders of the Past Everywhere

Holiday Inn Cemetery in Rochester, New Hampshire. Photo by howderfamily.com; (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The past always lurked around the corner wherever we traveled through New England, sometimes in unexpected ways. A reminder came to light as we checked into our hotel in Rochester, New Hampshire (map). There, beside the parking lot and next to the highway stood a small cemetery. It reminded me of the impermanence of people who came before. I doubted that families who established a cemetery a century and a half ago in what was probably a rustic setting ever imagined their loved ones would end up sandwiched between a noisy road and a strip mall. Nothing lasts forever.


New England articles:

See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr

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