Old postcard of East Weare Village
East Weare was a village located in the eastern part of Weare, Hillsborough County New Hampshire. According to Weare’s history books, this area included over 60 mostly farming families. Lumbering and a toy shop were local industries. East Weare also included a train depot, churches, a school and post office, garage, grocery store, lumber mills, grist mill, a Grange Hall, cemeteries, blacksmith shop and creamery.
According to Chapter 9 of the Town of Weare’s Master Plan: “Prior to 1938, Weare’s industries were clustered along the Piscataquog River at Chase Village, North Village, Rockland, East Weare and Oil Mill (now called Riverdale). Several factors which contributed to the decline of the industries along the river included both fires and floods, the growth of large woolen and cotton mills and shoe factories in Manchester and points south, the importing of grain from the west as farming declined in the east, and the use of plastics versus wooden products.”
East Weare NH B&M Railroad Station
“In 1960 the village of East Weare was purposely flooded to become part of the Everett Flood Control Project. (I believe the name Everett came either from “Everett Station,” a train depot within this area, and/or from William H. Everett who was the railroad conductor in the area for 32 years beginning in 1855). The fourth volume of the Weare Historical Society’s pictorial history is devoted to recreating the village of East Weare, which was sacrificed to the flood control project.”
Everett Lake and Dam, Weare NH. Photograph from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Today, the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes is a two-dam system. Hopkinton Dam is located on the Contoocook River in Hopkinton and nearby Everett Dam is located on the Piscataquog River in Weare. The dual projects were constructed in 1962 at the combined cost of $21.4 million. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, the existence of these dams have been credited with preventing over $69.5 million in damages from floods.
In 1982 New Hampshire Historic Marker #143 was placed at the corner of Route 77 & South Sugar Hill Road in Weare to commemorate East Weare Village and the people who lived there.
Janice
Here are some great video’s taken in Weare NH by Loren Powers, a graduate of Weare High School Class of 1956. He can be reached at thop3138@comcast.net
Video: Old East Weare Village Ride [updated video, thanks Loren Powers for the info!]
Video: Old Eastman Farm, Rt 114 South Weare. ( Just a few hundred feet South of South Weare Fire house. )
[Editor’s Note: this post updated 20 June 2017]
can you tell the last names of the people who lived there and i have something to add the stuff that was destroyed there are stone/concrete pole things that have numbers on them to represent what was there.my family was in that flood and were buried there
thank you,
kayli gilman
My friends mother was born and raised in E. Weare, and her name was Eunice (Gilman) Harradon. She is dead now, along with her husband. But their only child, my friend Alden, still lives in the house his father built which is in Goffstown. He is listed in the phone book for Goffstown. Good luck in your search. I hope this message will be of some use.
my mom ellen la bier was best friends with Eunice..remember alden of course
Kayli, I’d read that a cemetery from East Weare Village was relocated out in Dunbarton, off Rte 13. Out of the way place but very interesting.
The cemetery in east weare was relocated to weare off east road and buzzel hill my grandfather was moved there Charles Eaton
Both cemeteries were moved off of buzzell road in weare
You are correct Chris Reade
I was brought up in the area in Dunbarton.We spent many summers walking down the Big hill to go swimming in the river at the old Cloughs Reservation .Me and my 2 older sisters Kay And Bobbie all learned how to swim at the lessons tought there.We made numerous trips up past the Cloughs rock and up past the caves to the Sumit,where we could see the steeple of the Congreational Church inDunbarton Center.
We also were members of the Baptist church in East Weare village where we walked to many times
We also attended daily vacation bible school every summer.When we needed repairs on our model A ford we used Johnsons Garrage. I remember the Halls,Llegs,Peasleys,Gordon’s,Fottler,Heinos,Hills(cousins)cought many trout in the river
When the village was being taken down my neighbor Boyd Maxwell salvaged enough used lumber to build a house on Mansion road in Dunbarton.Bill Zeller Senior also salvaged some lumber and I bought it from him at the Zeller auction to build a workshop at John Sweeneys house.It was turned into a sleeping quarters by my sister when she purchased the family house.I also found some choice native chestnut boards which were door and window castings of that East Weare house.I turned them into some beautiful furniture.Some of this chestnut is trim in my house .We Sweeneys and Weatherbees have many fond Memories of East Weare
Hi Jack Sweeney! I research Dunbarton history and would love to speak with you. How can I reach you?
Just stumbled across this. Me and my sisters attended East Weare Baptist Church and vacation bible school in the summer. I remember some of the family names mentioned. We were one of the last families to move out. I remember Johnson’s garage and T and K Johnson. Vaguely. We did not actually live in East Weare village but to the east a few miles up Rte. 77. Lots of things posted about the houses being dismantled or moved may be true of the village but in my area usually the contractor would cave them in and set them on fire or just set them on fire. When they burned down one across the street, formerly owned by John Cornell, it nearly burned down our house we were still living in. My Dad was part of the East Weare Fire Department at the time and deployed the truck (nice 53 or so Ford) to protect our house. Some discussions with the contractor ensued I believe. My Dad owned a concrete manufacturing business just across the river from the post office/store. All was not the utopian versions of dismantling and moving the village presented in many places. Someone saying they were from the government came around nailing condemned/destruction notices to houses where families still lived. This alarmed many of the mothers in these houses. The contractors building the flood control project were taking gravel out of East Weare and the large dump trucks and other vehicles driving up and down Rte 77 through the village toward River Rd and on River Rd. were terrorizing the locals. I believe the contractors were told all the people had been moved. The dam contractors I remember were Perini and Bairthrow. Long time ago and I may be wrong. The arsonists who were supposed to be tearing down the houses I have no idea. Just my memories that stuck with me all these years as it seemed to me we were no longer in control of our own lives. There were a few school bus issues toward the end but thanks to the Colburn brothers who ran the buses we always got home eventually. We moved out around June 1960.
Hi David Todd. I chair the Dunbarton Historical Awareness Committee and would love to talk
with you about your experiences just over the line in Weare. Donna Dunn 603-774-4567, dunncottage@gamil.com
Hello Donna. You have to remember I was about 8 years old when all this happened. It was definitely something that left some memories but after 60 years they may not be reliable. I would prefer to email you rather than a phone call. I will do so privately.
my email is dunncottage@gmail.com (not gamil.com) Sorry!