OUR TOWN
A Mountainous Past History abounds in Moultonborough BY BARBARA RADCLIFFE ROGERS
M
oultonborough shares three prominent Lakes Region features with its neighbors: Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake and the Ossipee Mountains. While both lakes are major attractions for tourists, the mountains are of prime interest to hikers and those — like me — fascinated by geology. The triangle-shaped town includes Moultonborough Bay and the long peninsula of Moultonborough Neck separating the bay from the rest of Lake Winnipesaukee. Long Island, appended by a bridge, is included in the town by a wiggly boundary line through the lake. Another sharp corner of the triangle includes a wedge-shaped slice of Squam Lake. The interlocking puzzle of town boundaries began with land grants from Royal Governor Benning Wentworth to grantees from Hampton and nearby towns. More than a dozen of these were Moultons,
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hence the town’s name. When the town was incorporated in 1777, Jonathan Moulton was elected town clerk. One of the wealthiest men in the province, he was a controversial figure and subject of several tales of supernatural activity. He was called the “Yankee Faust” for his rumored deal with the devil, and another ghostly legend became the theme of a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier. Moulton sold land at the intersection of the roads to Ossipee and Center Harbor (now Routes 25 and 108), and a general store opened there around 1781. Today The Old Country Store is one of the oldest in the country. Town meetings were held there in the early 1800s, it housed the library, and for at least a century it was the post office. The current owners’ family bought it in 1972 and retained its antique counters and fixtures, including the pickle barrel, still in use. The store carries aged cheddar,
The Loon Center at Markus Wildlife Sanctuary in Moultonborough
candies, common crackers, cream soda and other staples of New England country stores. Upstairs is a free museum of antique store features, tools and advertising items such as cigar-store figures. The store was a coaching stop, and outside in a glass-enclosed porch is Concord Coach No. 22, thought to be the oldest remaining in New Hampshire. It is also one of the few private coaches built by the Lewis Downing Company, and is one of the smallest. A 1784 map shows the store as the only building here, but it wasn’t long before this became the village center. The Town House was built in 1834, and by then there were several houses, a school, tavern, inn and blacksmith shops. The Town House is now the Moultonborough Historical Society Museum, part of a complex that includes a former schoolhouse, the Emerson Barn and the Old Moultonborough Inn. The Town House is on the National Register of Historic Places, and
photo by stillman rogers
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