In 1907, Lord Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell adapted his military training program as “a game with a purpose”. The program was discovered by Chicago Publisher William D. Boyce, after getting lost in the London fog and being helped by an “Unknown Scout”. Boyce brought the program idea back to America, and The Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910.
The Scouting movement hiked into the Granite State and pitched camp in 1912, but a rather unorganized initial effort made it an up-hill climb. As Scouting grew in popularity, three makeshift councils formed in Dover, Claremont, and Portsmouth. The council added a Scout Executive to its staff in 1919. On January 9, 1920, the Manchester Council was granted an official charter with the Boy Scouts of America. It became Daniel Webster Council in 1929.
In its heyday, Daniel Webster Council comprised nearly 18,000 youth, and 5,000 adult volunteers registered with the BSA. Today an active, thriving program exists statewide within Scouting America. Daniel Webster Council operates both Hidden Valley Scout Reservation in Gilmanton Iron Works, and Camp Carpenter in Manchester. It now comprises boys and girls age five through twenty-one, in Cub Scout Packs, Scouts BSA Troops, Exploring Posts, Venturing Crews and Sea Scout Ships.
In 2026, during America’s 250th Anniversary, New Hampshire Scouts will celebrate 105 years of growing youth into men and women of character and achievement.
Hetchels were used to break down flax into silky fibers that were spun into thread. The thread was then woven into linen. In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act, taxing imported textiles. To protest this tax, women boycotted imported fabrics and made more linen to lessen dependence on British wool. During a time when women were banned from political participation, boycotts provided ways for women to make their voices heard. The Daughters of Liberty organized spinning circles to support this boycott and the Sugar Act was repealed within two years. With the introduction of cotton in the south, flax fell out of favor in the north, placing more pressure on southern industry and contributing to the tragedy of the Atlantic slave trade.
The impact of textile protests can still be seen in today’s American culture in the black armbands traditionally worn as a symbol of mourning. In the earlier colonial period, people wore mourning clothes when a loved one died. To reduce the need for imported fabric, colonial Americans began to use mourning armbands during the boycotts, which reduced fabric consumption and lessened dependence on imported textiles.
On the afternoon of December 14, 1774, John Sullivan and John Langdon led patriotic supporters in a raid against Fort William and Mary, now Fort Constitution, in Portsmouth. At about three o’clock a few shots were exchanged between the patriots and the king’s soldiers, but no one was injured. Before a second volley could be shot, the fort was overrun, the king’s colors were lowered, and patriots made off with 97 barrels of powder, some of which was used the following June at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Sullivan returned the next day, December 15, to seize the fort’s cannons.
The raid was prompted by a message from Boston, carried by Paul Revere, warning that royal troops were on their way to reinforce the fort.
Why is this armed engagement not more widely spoken about? Perhaps it’s the numbers. Over 400 patriotic supporters overwhelmed a mere six king’s soldiers. Perhaps it’s the fact that Britain chose to focus on the growing unrest in Massachusetts. Nevertheless, the raid on Fort William and Mary was an act of deliberate revolt and the first fully organized, large-scale armed attack against the authority of the British monarchy.
Image caption: “An explanation on the prospect draft of the Fort William and Mary on [Piscataqua} River,” 1705, courtesy of the Library of Congress. Image text: A watercolor drawing of a colonial town in the background and a fort on the shoreline in the foreground. The British flag is waving over the fort. Two men in military uniform look out over the water.
On the NH Heritage Museum Trail in September, visitors can experience hundreds of years of history, highlighted by a virtual Around the World Flight Adventure at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire in Londonderry. “Using a flight simulator and streaming video, we’ll take people around the planet and back again,” said Executive Director Jeff Rapsis.
Designed as an online resource for students and teachers engaged in remote learning, Around the World Flight Adventure is open to anyone with a desire “to see the world’s great cities.” “You’ll learn about science, geography, history and culture along the way,” he added. “At a time when travel options are limited for most of us, it’s the ultimate field trip.”
Vietnam: The Real War — A Photographic History from the Associated Press
In Wolfeboro, visitors will have their final look at Vietnam: The Real War — A Photographic History from the Associated Press at the Wright Museum of World War II. Sponsored by Service Credit Union, the exhibit features 50 photos taken during the 1960’s and 70’s and runs through September 27. “These are images you won’t forget nor the stories that accompany them,” said Executive Director Mike Culver.
The region’s leading resource for educators and learners of all ages on World War II, The Wright features more than 14,000 items in its collection that are representative of both the home front and battle field. To learn more, visit wrightmuseum.org.
Ladd-Gilman House
In Exeter, Curator Jen Carr will take visitors through a virtual tour of the American Independence Museum’s Ladd-Gilman House (c. 1721), home to former New Hampshire Gov. John Taylor Gilman, beginning in 1794. “It’s a chance to learn more about New Hampshire and the American Revolution,” said Carr, who noted the tours began in August and run through September.
Each 45-minute guided tour ends with a Q & A with Carr. “All tours take place on the Zoom platform, so be ensure you have the app or software downloaded prior to the tour start time,” she added.
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The NH Heritage Museum Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions. 18 member institutions are located in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.
For members of the NH Heritage Museum Trail, the 2020 season will represent a welcome departure from day to day protocols forced upon staff due to COVID-19. “We are all looking forward to reopening soon,” said Jeff Barraclough, president of The Trail and director of operations at the Millyard Museum, one of its founding members. “It’s been a spring none of us will ever forget.”
With members in the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Region, The Trail features everything from historic villages, working farm and research submarine to museums that focus on World War II, aviation, American Revolution, boating and Industrial Revolution.
“COVID-19 has certainly delayed openings for us, but the season is still on,” added Barraclough, who said each member institution has enacted “rigorous protocols” to ensure visitor safety.
At the Millyard Museum in Manchester, he said extra precautions have included the implementation of a regular cleaning and disinfecting schedule and designating a one-way traffic flow throughout the museum. “We are also limiting the number of guests in the museum at any one time and temporarily removing some ‘hands-on’ features of our exhibits,” he said.
According to Mike Culver, executive director of the Wright Museum in Wolfeboro, member institutions have a responsibility to “help bring communities together again.” “However that is going to look in 2020 given social distancing restrictions, all of us on The Trail want the public to know that we are all in this together,” he said. “Our state’s heritage is still something to cherish and celebrate, especially now.”
Formed in 2014 as a way to share resources and better promote their respective collections, programs and events, The Trail is divided into the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley and Lakes Regions. Member institutions are located in Canterbury, Concord, Dover, Exeter, Laconia, Manchester, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Tamworth and Wolfeboro.