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dressed in the period attire from the time of Benjamin Evans, who owned the home before the Clark family took up residency. His costume added historic realism to the tour, and he seemed to fit right into the time period as we walked through each building.

My tour started in the Wolfeboro Firehouse Museum, which was built in the 1980s by local technical school high school students.

“The fire station was patterned after the old South Wolfeboro Fire Station,” explained Lush. It is a beautiful oneroom museum, featuring a number of antique fire-fighting pieces used in the town and dating from the mid-1800s, with two of the items being “hand tubs” built by the Hunneman Company from Boston, Massachusetts. On display also is a restored Amoskeag horse-drawn fire engine, on loan from Q. David Bowers. It is a vehicle of beauty, with bright red wheels and shiny trim. The engine used a coal/ wood fired burner to convert water to steam, which provided a source of pressure to pump water at the fire. It is only one of 75 still in existence; and well worth a visit to see the Amoskeag. Also on display in the Firehouse Museum are two restored hose carriers from the 1800s. One of the carriers was hand drawn and carried up to 300 ft. of hose and the other was horse drawn and carried up to 1,000 ft of hose. The fire-fighting equipment in the museum gives the visitor a good idea of how fires were battled long ago. While they may seem dubious methods of putting out a fire by today’s standards, in their day they were the best way to battle a fire.

As we continued our tour, Lush led the way to the Clark House, and explained it was built in 1778. The builder of the home is unknown, but it is surprisingly roomy for the time it was constructed. Whoever built the house did a fine job, and the layout of rooms was well planned.

Although it was a humid day with bright sunshine when I visited, the interior of the house was cool and rather dimly lit, which is accurate for times gone by. I reminded myself that long ago, candles and daylight from the outdoors were the primary methods of light, as well as any illumination from fireplaces in a home.

We stepped into the large kitchen, where the big fireplace was surely one the most important parts of the home, used for heat, cooking and lighting. A wooden table – quite old – took center stage in the room and kitchen equipment was on another table and elsewhere. Big iron pots hung from a crane that could be moved in and out of the fireplace.

The house remains on its original foundation and was once part of a 100acre working farm. The property extended from South Main Street to the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. I didn’t find this surprising, because many homes in the Lakes Region were built with lake/water access.

“Some of the contents of the house are Clark family items,” Lush said. “We also have many donations from the public.”

As we walked from the kitchen to the dining room, Lush pointed to the large, round dining table. “We think it was once owned by Governor Wentworth and was in his mansion in Wolfeboro.”

If that is true, the table has historical significance, due to the fact that the Governor and his wife enjoyed their summer mansion before the Revolutionary War broke out. As loyalists to England, they would have moved elsewhere. How the table ended up in the Clark House is anyone’s guess, but it is a thing of beauty…and history.

“The house was purchased by Joseph Clark in 1817,” Lush continued. “He bought it from the Widow Evans. She ran a tavern from the house before she sold it.” It probably brought in a comfortable living as a place where

• Day Tripping continued on page 37 travelers could stop and get a meal and a bed for the night, which was the main purpose of such establishments at the time.

Clark was a cabinetmaker from the seacoast and Lush pointed to a beautiful bureau in one of the downstairs rooms, finely made and attesting to the skill of Clark’s work.

Down through the years, three generations of the Clark family lived in the house, (from 1817 to 1917). I wondered what the immediate area was like as times changed, and the community grew. Lush said Huggins Hospital, which is now located directly across the street, was not there many years ago. At one time, a dairy was at the site, and probably before that it was farmland.

The final owner of the Clark house was Greenleaf Clark, who donated the property to the town of Wolfeboro to be used as a living history museum. Surely Greenleaf would be happy to see the care and work to keep up the property so visitors can see how people once lived and gain an idea of local history.

In the parlor, Lush pointed to a beautiful piano and explained it was the first piano in Wolfeboro and came to the area in the 1830s.

Upstairs in the house were a few large rooms, and they give a distinct feeling of how visitors and family once bed down for a night’s sleep. A collection of period clothing is being readied for the season when it will be on display in an upstairs room.

Next door to the Clark House, Lush said the schoolhouse was built in about 1805, and was once located in Pleasant Valley in South Wolfeboro. “The school was operated until 1910,” he said. In 1859 there were over 50 students attending the school, which educated youth until eighth grade. From there, if families could afford it and the student showed a desire for further education, they went on to study at the

Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro Academy. The schoolhouse is comprised of a small entrance area and one large room. Some student desks are in the classroom to show visitors how children once sat as they did their lessons. The conditions were much different than today’s school. A woodstove heated the room, and it was undoubtedly chilly depending upon where a student was sitting. Bathroom facilities were non-existent and in the early years of the school, students would go to a neighboring farm to use the bathroom. Water was hauled from a neighbor’s house as well.

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As time went on, the school, along with many others in the town, was closed and students were sent to one school. In 1959, the schoolhouse was moved to the Clark Museum Complex and has become a charming example of a time passed.

Last – but certainly not least – on my tour was the barn. The circa 1820 barn was dismantled and sent to Wolfeboro in the early 2000s. The barn is beautiful, with the original wooden beams and soaring ceiling. The collection in the barn is varied and features agricultural items and the trades and industries of the area. (Lush explained during my tour that the Wolfeboro Blanket Company once operated in the town, among other industries.)

Should someone be doing genealogical research, the Wolfeboro Historical Society is the place to come for information. The barn houses offices with a cataloged library, house files and genealogical files, available year-round.

I ended my visit with a walk around the grounds and Lush pointed out the charming flower gardens, the project of the Wolfeboro Garden Club. The lawns and grounds are cared for by Wolfe boro Parks and Recreation, and Lush says they do a great job to keep all in top-notch condition.

As I bid farewell to Lush, the perfect guide to help a visitor step back into

Wolfeboro’s past, my fascination with history was only reinforced. I could imagine, when I touched the very old dining table, Governor Wentworth sitting and dining at the same table. Also, I could envision a child hauling water and reciting his/her lessons in the old schoolhouse long ago. It is moving to realize we can step back in time at a place such as the Clark House museum complex, as we gaze at an object from the past.

I thought of the method of firefighting long ago and how beautiful even a horse-drawn fire engine could be. I also thought of the Widow Evans living in the home we now call the Clark House, cooking for travelers and making a living from her efforts. Why did she run the tavern? Was she alone in the world and needing to make money? After she sold to the Clark family, where did she go?

All these questions and more may never be answered, but it doesn’t really matter. It is fun, instead, to take a step back in time and imagine what might have been. That is why I love history and always will.

The Clark House Museum Complex is open from July 1 to September 2, and hours are Wednesday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm.

Call 603-569-4997 for information or visit www.wolfeborohistoricalsociety.org.