Chesterfield Academy

C. 1885

Academy was founded in 1790

(Chesterfield Elementary School present location)

The New Hampshire Register of 1810 lists the Chesterfield Academy as one of only twelve academies in the state. Academies, private secondary educational institutions, were virtually the only means of obtaining a secondary education in New Hampshire at the time.

The Chesterfield Academy had been founded in 1790 and was the first academy in this region of the state. It had an excellent reputation during its early years, being ranked second only to Phillips Exeter.  Between 70 to 100 students were generally in attendance. They were usually local residents, but many came from Vermont and Massachusetts. The by-laws of 1806 set rules and regulations for the academy. Tuition cost 25¢ per week and unexcused absences were to be punished by a 25¢ fine for each day absent. Students were forbidden to use indecent language, to keep cards or dice, or to visit public houses. They were also to keep themselves neat and clean and were not to dispute or contradict the principal.

Many students went on to distinguished careers after their stay at Chesterfield, including several who became prominent lawyers and doctors. Some of the more famous graduates included Reverend Hosea Ballou, pioneer of Universalism; Dr. Horace Wells, inventor and pioneer in the field of anesthesia; famed surgeon Amos Twitchell; and Governor William Hale.

The school realized its greatest prosperity during the 1820s when Chesterfield was one of the leading towns in the county with two hotels, six stores, and a population greater than that of Keene. Public high schools began to predominate in the middle of the nineteenth century, however, and academies began to lose their importance. The Chesterfield Academy continued on for many years, but after 1850 it lost the previous prominence which had made it one of the most distinguished educational institutions in New Hampshire.

French & Sawyer stereoscopic view

Courtesy Laurence D. Colony III

Write up courtesy of the Historical Society of Cheshire County

https://hsccnh.org/2017/03/22/monadnock-moments-no-20-chesterfield-academy/

Chesterfield Gorge

"The Canyon"

It used to be also called The Glen or The Ravine before the state purchased it in 1950s.  We owe its existence to George White, who bought it in 1936 to protect it from clear-cut loggers.  White sold 15 acres to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, which then donated the land to the state.  As this unknown dated picture shows, before there were paths and bridges, it was a very ambitous hike or rock climbing experience.

Henry Chickering Farm

1863 - 1913

Originally Amos Smith Farm - Handed down from Moses Smith (Original Settler) on River Road, Chesterfield

(From L to R)  Martha Jane Britton Chickering, her sister Lorette Britton and Henry Chickering

Brattleboro Bridge

c1890s

(Route 9)

Built in 1889, this was the first bridge between Chesterfield and Brattleboro.  Chesterfield purchased the bridge in May 1889 from Berlin Steel Co. of CT at a cost of $8,175 with an additional $4,500 proved by the town of Brattleboro.  The view is toward the Chesterfield side.  It was destroyed by Great Flood of 1936.  A temporary bridge replaced it, but it was destroyed by floodwaters in 1937.  The third bridge was built in 1938.  That bridge is now a The Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Pedestrian bridge (also pictured in this section)  after it was replaced in 2003. 

Keene/Spofford Lake Stage at Lakeside

(Now location of Camp Spofford)

Spofford Lake

Early 1900's

Kneeland Tavern

Route 9, West Chesterfield

(Now The Chesterfield Inn

which is still in operation)

The Future Stone House Tavern Museum

The Methodist Church

Chesterfield Center

Erected 1843

Photo prior to removal of upper portion of steeple.

It is now the Asbury United Methodist Church

Photo by Paul Penning

The Pine Grove Springs Hotel

Slade's Store - 1909

Spofford

Built in 1820, remodeled c. 1880

The Spofford Post Office was located in it until 1961 when the present Post Office as constructed.  The stagecoach is probably the "Spofford Stage" which made daily trips from Keene to Spofford. 

Reflections from the Spofford Mill Pond

c.1910

This long gone pond was across from the present day Spofford Post Office.  The mill in the center of the photo housed at different times a bit and auger shop and a pail shop.  Prior to it being a mill, it was a church which had been moved from "the Glebe" in Westmoreland to its present location.  (Photo from glass negative by Austin O. Foster.)

The Evolution of the Chesterfield Post Office



The "Old" Town Hall

The white annex renovated section replaced several mismatched building additions that included the old jail, a building converted into a kitchen, hall, and nurse's office. A History of the building was written by Audrey Ericson and is available in Our Shop.