Historical Town Hall Happenings
The 1851 Chesterfield Town Hall building has served as the heart of Chesterfield for 174 years. Inside its walls local, state, and national officials have been elected, and major town decisions settled. Governors and the future President Reagan have stood on the building's front stairs. Just about every type of event celebrating the Chesterfield Community has been held in its rooms.
It is no surprise that the Chesterfield Historical Society (CHS) uses this venue for its program presentations. The program on June 25, 2025, will feature actress Sheryl Faye’s portraying another historical woman, this time Queen Elizabeth II. She has already given CHS and the Lions Club impressive presentations of Amelia Earhart and Helen Keller. This year Faye will give us a peek into Queen Elizabeth’s life which included a daily cocktail before lunch (gin and Dubonnet on the rocks, with a slice of lemon). Apparently, it was a habit she picked up from her mother that may have helped her deal with the ever-present pressure of the monarchy and family.
But what other programs/uses has this historic 1851 Chesterfield landmark hosted? The building was a been the centerpiece for many Old Home Day's entertainment, used for a variety of family events, and numerous town celebrations. Before radio and TV became commonplace, dances were frequent and very successful. They even drew in folks from "away", like Northfield, Brattleboro and Keene. In 1903 the hall hosted the Dr. Park Medicine Company who according to the NH Sentinel (now the Keene Sentinel), provided "entertainment every night for a week". The paper reported the attendance “to be good and sales large”. This may be the very Park Company that was reselling Dr. Miles “patent medicine” which indeed had useful properties, if somewhat toxic. But Park was undercutting Miles' prices which resulted in a 1911 US Supreme Court case, Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons
In the 1930s and 40s, the hall was used as a dentist office. The PTA and Community Club sponsored a dental clinic for the town’s children. An Army dentist, Dr. Grimes, was hired and a dentist chair set up. Fillings were 25 cents and extractions 50 cents. To this day, some of his former patients recall the horror of awaiting their fate as they were escorted across the Common from school.
The building was and still is being used for a variety of activities. In the 1940s, the American Legion sponsored movies, and Helen Keyes Robinson gave ballroom dancing lessons and taught proper etiquette to 7th and 8th graders. Before Chesterfield School was built in 1951, all the Chesterfield schools combined their graduations into one ceremony at the Town Hall. The school board held a reception afterward which included ice cream and a small gift for each graduate.
In the 1960s Ruth Goodrich Berry, a long-time resident, compiled some of her fondest Chesterfield Village memories. In her writings, she recalled a particularly special evening at the Town Hall. “One night in August at an Old Home Day Dance, the church ladies served their snacks and cool drinks. Mr. Mulligan, the famous artist from MA, who owned property in the village and was a benefactor to the church, came to the dance and passed out $10 bills to each individual there and also gave the ladies of the church a bountiful gift that night. Everyone was dumbfounded and questioned should they take it or not. Many decided to accept. Also, on the same night, Madame Sherri, from down in New Boston section of town arrived, hot and sultry and everyone perspiring she came in (wearing) her notorious fur coat with a few of her much talked about gigolos from NYC. As soon as Ralph Page saw her, he prompted his orchestra to play “Jingle Bells” and it brought a roar from all those in attendance.”
Article Information from
Chesterfield Town Hall, Our Heritage-Our Centerpiece
By Audrey Ericson, Chesterfield Historical Society, Inc. 2014
