The Pelham Historical Society does not maintain regular building access hours, so all visits will be by appointment. Read below for some of what we have to offer.
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Museum
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The Pelham Historical Society Museum has been created to display documents and other historical artifacts that tell the story of Pelham’s history. Society volunteers are currently hand crafting display cases, cabinets and bookcases to enable the public to enjoy the viewing of the society’s growing collection of old things.
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There is no limit to the variety of objects that we hope to display. We have the fireplace mantel from General Joshua Atwood’s best parlor and the door to his master bedroom. We have a collection of Street Trolley artifacts including railroad spikes, sections of track, model trolley cars, track layout plans, time-tables and photos. Other collections include early kitchen utensils and wood working tools. Flags, uniforms and military items make up still another collection.
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You can help make the Pelham Historical Society Museum a truly unique enjoyable educational viewing experience. Do you have any old town reports, books, photos, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, account books, voting lists, posters, tools, military items, family histories, clothing, embossed glass milk bottles from Pelham’s old farms, foot warmers, furniture, children’s toys, doll collections, antiques, family genealogies, or other items that you would like to donate to the Pelham museum? Plaques will identify the donor of items on display.
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Ruth Sherburne Sturrus Art Gallery
The Pelham Historical Society has established the Ruth Sherburne Sturrus Art Gallery to provide local Pelham Artists with a venue to display their artistic creations. The Gallery will display the Society’s permanent collection of paintings and provide an opportunity for the temporary display of paintings loaned to the Society by local artists for the occasion.
Ruth Evelyn Sherburne was born on January 6, 1919 and shortly thereafter was adopted by Ernest G. Sherburne and Mary (May) Hillman Sherburne. She received her grade school education in the one room Gumpus School House and graduated from Nashua High School and the University of New Hampshire. During World War II she served as a uniformed field unit member of the American Red Cross in Europe. Red Cross Field Unit members lived in tents and provided a great variety services to the American troops during their march from the beaches of Normandy to the outskirts of Berlin.
Newspaper articles, quoting letters to her parents, detailed the hardships endured and the care provided to the American Soldiers by the American Red Cross volunteers. The American Red Cross Field Units were never more than a couple of miles from the advancing battle lines. These newspaper clippings are part of the Pelham Historical Society’s special documents collection.
Ruth’s father, Ernest Gardner Sherburne was born on January 16, 1885 on the farm purchased by his ancestor, James Sherburne. James and his family came to Pelham from Portsmouth in the winter of 1751. Ernest was a direct descendent of three of Pelham’s first four permanent settlers, Edward Wyman, William Richardson and John Butler. He attended a nearby Tyngsboro Grammar School and Lowell High School. He graduated from Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire.
He was a farmer and craftsman, who dedicated his life to improving the Pelham Schools and the educational opportunities that they provided to Pelham students. While a member of the Pelham School Board, he participated in the planning process that led to the consolidation of Pelham’s five one room school houses into one single school to be located in Pelham Center. In contrast to the one room schools, the new school was to have a furnace, running water and inside toilets. Ernest died in 1948, while the Pelham Junior High School was being remodeled and greatly expanded to become a thoroughly modern eight grade grammar school. At a dedication ceremony organized by Edward F. Hayes, who had been appointed to finish Ernest G. Sherburne’s term on the Pelham School Board, the new school was officially named the E. G. Sherburne Grammar School.
Ruth’s mother, Mary “May” Semple Hillman was born on April 6, 1888, the daughter of Frank H. Hillman and Alice M. Greeley. The Hillman Family owned the Hillman Sawmill, the Hillman Cider Mill and the Hillman Carriage Shop, which manufactured heavy duty horse drawn farm wagons. May studied to become a teacher and began her teaching career at the one room Gumpus School in 1911. Her teaching career was cut short when she contracted typhoid fever. In a short autobiography she wrote that during her period of convalescence “Ernest began trying to console me and I ended up here on the hill.” They were married on August 22, 1914.
During her lifetime May held the position of Lecturer (program director) of the Pelham Grange and was the head of the women’s auxiliary of the Farm Bureau Organization. She was a 4-H Leader and served as Clerk of the Congregational Church and as President of the Ladies Aid Society of the Pelham Congregational Church. She also served as a Trustee of the Pelham Public Library and as a Library Assistant to Aunt Molly Hobbs, Pelham’s librarian from 1892 to 1955.
May Sherburne is best known as one of Pelham’s leading artists. At age twelve she drew a pen and ink map of the entire town of Pelham accurately locating by name every street, residence, farm and public building. In addition to pen and ink, she created oil and water paintings. Her paintings were done on paper, canvas and textiles. By her own count she completed more than 125 paintings which she either sold or gave to friends.
In her brief autobiography, May wrote “I taught art at the Sherburne School for five years and loved it. I was allowed to teach even beyond the retirement age. Then I had art classes here at the house-some in oil and textile in the evenings for older people and on Saturday mornings for the children. Of course painting has been my chief interest and joy.” May Sherburne died on May 10, 1975 at the age of 90 years.
The Pelham Historical Society, through the creation of the Ruth Sherburne Sturrus Art Gallery, is pleased to acknowledge the many contributions of May and Ernest Sherburne to the Town of Pelham. The Society is equally pleased to acknowledge Ruth Sherburne Sturrus’ personal contribution to the American war effort during World War II and her subsequent substantial financial contributions to the Pelham Historical Society.
The Ruth Sherburne Sturrus Art Gallery has about a dozen May Sherburne paintings on display, including an oil portrait of Ruth.
The Society is actively soliciting additional paintings by May Sherburne and other local artists. If you have a May Sherburne painting, or other work of art created by a Pelham Artist, or if you are a local artist, and would like to make a donation to the Pelham Historical Society Art Gallery, please contact us through the contact form.
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A small plaque recognizing your donation of the artwork to the Pelham Historical Society Art Gallery will be placed under each donated piece of art.
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John E. Hardy Family History Program
The purpose of this program is to collect and publish as much information as possible regarding the early families of Pelham. We urge all who may wish to do so to contribute information, documents and photographs to this program either by the contact form or regular mail addressed to The Pelham Historical Society, 5 Main Street, Pelham, NH 03076.
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Gage Chairs
The Gage Chair on display at the Historical Society has been passed down through at least six generations of the Hobbs family before it was willed to the Pelham Public Library. Two of its mates were left to the granddaughter of John Gage of Missouri and to Mrs. Clara Cutter Jack of Pelham, New Hampshire. These ornate chairs were of unusually fine quality when Mrs. Phebe Frye Gage brought them to Pelham around 1738, a time when most of Pelham's homes contained simple, handmade furniture.
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Story of the Gage Chairs, written in 1962, by unknown:
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Thomas and Phoebe Gage (maiden name Phoebe Frye, born in Andover, MA), two of the first settlers in Pelham, moved to Pelham not long after their marriage, near the year 1735. He died it is supposed, in the French and Indian War. He left three sons, James, John and Johnathan and four daughters, Phoebe, Joana, Sarah, and Elizabeth. James moved to Jaffrey and died there, John settled in Pelham near to his Father's (which is the place now owned by Mr. J. Underwood.)
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Frozen to death while returning from mill, Jonathan my mothers father lived where Fry Gage now lives. He married Mehitable for his first wife and Dorcas Swan for his second wife. She was a native of Methuen Ma. He died at the age of 77 of dropsy (Old-fashioned or less technical term for Edema), very suddenly. She died in Oct. 18-- of old age, 82 years. A very worthy woman. She was the daughter of Dea. Francis Swan.
The great chair now owned by my mother, was owned by Pheobe Gage, wife of Thomas Gage, and was purchased by them at her marriage and must consequently be this year (1857) be as much as 122 yrs. of age as she was about 19 yrs. of age at the time of her marriage.
Dorcas Hobbs gave the great chair to her grandson CHarles W. Hobbs, the last time he saw her, home on furlough in 1865, toward the end of the War of the Rebellion. He cherished and preserved it through the years and gave it to his son Charles Winthrop Hobbs, who in turn gave it to his son, Charles Winthrop Hobbs Jr.
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This was a part of a set which fell into the hands of various descendants of the original Gage owners. Mrs. Proctor of Nashua gave her daughter three of the set, smaller chairs. Upon her death Mrs. Ira Harris (Mary Proctor) willed one chair to the Pelham Public Library, one to the grand daughter of John Gage of Missouri, and a third to Mrs. Clara Cutter Jack of Pelham.
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Tradition tells us that this furniture was something of a novelty when Phoebe Frye Gage brought it to Pelham and the townspeople came to view, as few homes possessed such fine furniture but had to use home made chairs.
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This description has been copied from carefully written paper. No name is signed but all evidence points to Miss Jane Hobbs, sister of Moody Hobbs, who lived in the Moody Hobbs Place. She was the daughter of Dorcas Hobbs wife of Capt. Samuel Hobbs (Milit.). Aunt Jane was an important member of that family. She taught in the summer session of the district school, which was largely made up of younger children. The winter session was usually taught by a man.
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If the chairs came into a Pelham home in 1735 they must now be about two-hundred- twenty- seven years old. A real treasure.