Town of Swanzey USGenWeb

New Hampshire

History of Swanzey

First granted in 1733 as "Lower Ashuelot", Swanzey was one of the fort towns established by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts,
which then claimed the territory. The town was the site of many battles during King George's War, and in 1747 it was abandoned for three years.
It was regranted to 62 proprietors on July 2, 1753, by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Swanzey",
most probably because some early settlers had a connection to Swansea in Wales.

Situated on the Ashuelot River and connected by the Ashuelot Railroad, West Swanzey developed as a textile mill town,
and East Swanzey produced wooden buckets for generations. By 1859, the population was 2,106.

The town features four covered bridges, and was the home of theatrical trouper Denman Thompson, who gained a national reputation
by his portrayal of the Yankee farmer, "Joshua Whitcomb", star of his stage play The Old Homestead.
Residents restage Thompson's melodrama every summer at a natural outdoor amphitheater called the Potash Bowl.

Because he vacationed in Swanzey during several summers, the town has claimed to be the location of a tree that inspired poet Joyce Kilmer
to write the popular 1913 poem "Trees". However, family accounts and documents establish that the poem was written in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Swanzey - Swanzey Town Information

West Swanzey Covered Bridge - compiled and edited by Richard G. Marshall, Chief System Planning, NH Dept. of Transportation

Cemeteries in Swanzey - Search the four cemeteries in Swanzey, NH

World War II US Navy - Fireman 3rd Class Edwin Chester Hopkins 19 years old - U.S.S. Oklahoma (BB-37) "Missing in Action " 7 Dec. 1941
Pearl Harbor - A Japanese airplane torpedoed the USS Oklahoma killing 408 sailors.
US Army - Pvt. Norman L. Ward - 20 years old - 227th Stat Hospital "Line of Duty" 3 April 1943 -
Norman died in the "Line Of Duty" of a non-battle related incident during the war.
US Army - Tech 5th Grade Eugene Elwin Cole - 37 years old - 441st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Bn "Killed in Action"
24 October 1944 - France
US Army - Pvt. Clayton D. Packard - 21 years old - 90th Infantry Division, 344 Infantry "Died of Wounds"
9 Dec. 1944 received in action during the war

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Cheshire Co. GenWeb Project - Founded 15 November 1996
This site maintained by: GN Kidder - E-mail - address
Copyright 1996 by Randall Mitton
Copyright 1996-2023 by GN Kidder

NHGenWeb SC:George Kidder
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Last Edited 5 Jan. 2024