Plainfield
New Hampshire
Kimball Union Academy - Meriden, NH
The town was first settled by a group from
Plainfield,
Connecticut. It was one of the towns incorporated by
Colonial
Governor
Benning Wentworth in 1761, at the beginning of the reign of King
George III. A part of Plainfield known as Meriden Parish, named for
the farm of
Massachusetts Governor
Jonathan Belcher, became the site of Kimball Union Academy, built in
1813.
Plainfield lies on the northern
edge of the enclave known as the
Cornish Art Colony, which existed between 1885 and 1930.
Maxfield Parrish painted the stage backdrop in the Plainfield Town
Hall. Parrish purchased land close to his parents' estate in 1898, at
the age of 28, and relocated after leaving
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He designed and built his home, The
Oaks, over several years, eventually also designing and building an
elaborate studio some distance behind the house. Parrish lived in
Plainfield for 67 years, with the exception of a several-month period in
Arizona,
and a nine-month period when he resided and worked in New York City. In
1910, Ernest Harold Baynes founded the Meriden Bird Club, the first
institution of its type in the nation.
Town of Plainfield
Philip
Read Memorial Library
Plainfield Historical
Society
Kimball Union Academy
Meriden
Library
© 1996 - Present
All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
