History of Walpole

The town was first granted in 1736 by colonial Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts as "Number 3", third in a line of Connecticut River fort towns.
It was settled as early as 1736, and called "Great Falls" or "Lunenburg". Colonel Benjamin Bellows, for whom Bellows Falls, Vermont,
is named, built a large fort here for defense against Native attack. After the border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire
was fixed (with Number 3 on the New Hampshire side of the line), the town was regranted by Governor Benning Wentworth as "Bellowstown",
after its founder. It was incorporated in 1756. The grant was renewed in 1761, when the town was renamed Walpole, in honor of Sir Robert Walpole,
1st Earl of Orford and first Prime Minister of Great Britain.

The first bridge across the Connecticut River, an engineering feat in its day, was built at Walpole in 1785, and is regarded as one of the
most famous early spans in the United States. The town contains many architecturally significant old houses, including several associated
with Colonel Bellows and members of his family. Walpole Academy, built in 1831 and attributed to master-builder
Aaron Prentiss Howland, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The abundant lilacs in the
town inspired Louisa May Alcott to write the 1878 book "Under the Lilacs".

The Alcott family moved to Walpole temporarily beginning in the summer of 1855 after Benjamin Willis, brother-in-law of matriarch Abby May Alcott,
offered the family rent-free use of his home. Louisa was the first to move there and called the town "a lovely place, high among the hills".

The railroad entered in 1848.

Town of Walpole - Town of Walpole Contact Directory

Town of Walpole - Welcome to our Town

Town of Walpole - Community Profile

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

Walpole men killed during World War II US Marines - Major Hudson E. Bridge - resided in Walpole, prior to the war - "Killed in Action" in Guam 21 July 1944 - World War II
US Air Force - 2nd Lieutenant William T. Burrows, Jr. - 327th Bomber Squadron - "Killed in Action" 24 Dec. 1944 near England -
when his B-17 ran out of fuel and crash landed two miles south of Bury St. Edmunds, England, while returning to
Podington Station 109 after mission to bomb Darmstadt, Germany
US Air Force - 2nd Lieutenant Bruce A. Gilbo - 448th Fighter Squadron - "Line of Duty" 24 Dec. 1943 -
He was killed piloting P-38G Lightning in a crash, 12 miles west of Hollister, California.
US Air Force - 2nd Lieutenant Philip Bean Harris - "Line of Duty" 3 July 1943 - was killed piloting a AT-7
from San Marcos, Air Force Base, Texas The AT-7 crashed, 2 miles south of Pine Valley, Oklahoma during the war.
US Army - Pvt. Edward J. Kiniry - 25 years old - 3rd Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Regiment "Missing in Action" 10 July 1943
in Italy - buried in Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Lazio, Italy
US Air Force - Staff Sergeant Hoyt W. Wilson - 541st Bomber Squadron "Line of Duty"
2 August 1943 in Tillamook County, Oregon, USA
US Air Force - 2nd Lieutenant Edward J. Nachajski - 23 years old - 41st Bomber Group, 420th Bomber Squadron "Killed in Action"
24 Jan. 1944, at Tarawa, Gilbert Islands
US Army - Pvt. Donald R. Parrott - 19 years old - U.S. Army "Killed in Action" 8 June 1944
US Army - Pvt. Raymond H. Wallace - 19 years old - Signal Corps "Line of Duty" 5 March 1942 in Hawaii

Walpole men killed during the Vietnam War US Army - SP 4 Robert Quentin Roentsch - 20 years old - 25th Infantry Division - 27th Infantry "Killed in Action" 14 Feb. 1966 - Vietnam
US Army - SP 4 - Gary Wayne Ball - 20 years old - 34th GS Group, 69th SIG Det. "Killed in Action" 16 July 1968 - Vietnam
US Army - PFC David Ernest Gardner - 20 years old - 9th Infantry Division, 39th Infantry, Co. B "Killed in Action" 11 Dec. 1968 - in Dinh Thong, Vietnam

NHGenWeb SC:George Kidder
NHGenWeb ASC:Norma Hass

Last Edited 5 Jan. 2024