Dalton Historical Society

Mailing Address: 220 Union Rd, Dalton, NH 03598

Contact: Terri Parks, President
603-837-9120
Website: www.daltonhistoricalsociety.org

Description: No museum at this time. Please contact us for other services. The historical society meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7pm at the Dalton Town Hall.

While your in the area also visit: Dalton Congregational Church, Site of the Sumner House, Connecticut River/John's River Junction, Forest Lake State Park, Site of the Dalton Ferry, Dalton Town Hall, Dalton Town Pound

Dalton Congregational Church

Address: Rte 135, Dalton, NH 03598

Description: Building was erected in 1830 on land deeded to the Congregational Church Society by Jacob Barrows, a Methodist and a potter who served in the Revolutionary War. The organ and bell were added in 1879. Church still active.

Hours: Services held every Sunday Morning

Directions: Center of Dalton, next to Town Hall on Route 135

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Site of the Dalton Ferry

Site Owners: privately owned
Physical Address: Rte 135, Dalton, NH 03598

Description: Ferry service stopped when bridge was erected a few miles down the river. In June 1792, a petition for a ferry crossing the Connecticut River between Dalton and South Lunenburg, VT was granted to Moses Blake, Dalton's first settler. The ferry was operated almost continuously by people on both sides of the river until 1928.

Directions: On Route 135, about one half mile north of the junction of the Johns River and Connecticut River. The site is on a sharp curve.

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Forest Lake State Park

Site Owners: State of New Hampshire
Physical Address: off Rte 116, Dalton, NH 03598
Mailing Address: NH Division of Parks & Recreation, Dalton, NH 03598
837-9150

Website: www.nhstateparks.org

Description: Forest Lake public beach and picnic area. Sandy beach, grassy play area, wooded picnic sites, all in a mountain setting. One of the original 10 State Parks in NH, created in 1935, by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Hours: Mid-June to Labor Day

Directions: Off Route 116 between Whitefield and Littleton. Park can also be accessed from Dalton via the network of town-maintained roads.

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Connecticut River/John's River Junction

Physical Address: Rte 135, Lancaster, NH 03584

Description: Confluence of two important rivers in the area. The two rivers join just above where the Fifteen Mile Falls provided a main route of travel for both native Americans and settlers. They were a source of fish and a place for logs to be floated to the mills.

Directions: The John's River joins the Connecticut River immediately south of the intersection of Routes 142 and 135. Travel Route 135 north to the Lancaster town line, following the Connecticut River.

Notes: The John's River was named for either John Stark or John Glines, both early explorers. The head of the Fifteen Mile Falls was a stopping point for some of Major Robert Rogers' Rangers, on their return from a raid in St. Francis, Quebec.

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Site of the Sumner House

Site Owners: privately owned
Physical Address: Route 135, Dalton

Description: Was a large hotel owned by lumber baron, James B Sumner in 1800s. It was a stop on the stage route. Destroyed by fire in 1858, it was rebuilt on a scale to match some of the "grand hotels". Eventually was left vacant and torn down in 1906.

Directions: Red barn on Route 135 across from the Simonds Road intersection. Connecticut River can be seen beyond the barn.

Notes: Site is now occupied by a red barn built from some of the lumber from the Sumner House.

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Dalton Town Pound

Site Owners: White Mountains Regional School District
Physical Address: Blakslee Rd, Dalton, NH 03598

Description: Located "near the horse barn of Oliver P Brooks." The purpose of the Town Pound was to hold stray farm animals until their owners could claim them. In 1809, Joshua Whitney was elected as Poundkeeper. It wasn't until 1821 that town records described the original pound as being "with hewn posts and sills and plates, twenty-six feet square."

Directions: From the Town Hall, take Blakslee Rd and just a few hundred feet on the left, past the rear driveway to the Dalton School, there is a stonewall-enclosed area with an identifying sign, close to the road.

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