Jackson Historical Society
23 Black Mountain Road
Jackson, New Hampshire 03846
. . .keeping the past alive
23 Black Mountain Road
Jackson, New Hampshire 03846
. . .keeping the past alive
Formed in April 1977, the Jackson Historical Society helps preserve the history of Jackson, New Hampshire. The Society maintains collections of historical artifacts, maps, books, and documents.
It also features 19th century art of the White Mountains with a permanent collection of paintings as well as an annual show and sale of White Mountain art.
The Society is located in the former Jackson Town Hall, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a non-profit, membership-based organization led by a dedicated group of volunteers who strive to preserve and remember the past.
We hope you will visit our historic displays, use our archives for your research, and enjoy our 19th century collection of White Mountain art. We are open Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Special Summer Months beginning Memorial Day
Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Become a member by clicking here or become a volunteer by clicking here.
The reprinting of Alice Pepper’s A History of Jackson New Hampshire 1771 – 1940, written in 2015, should be available in early May. This 200+ page quality printed book should be a “must have” for every Jackson property owner, inn, and rental property. The new edition has a lengthy index prepared pro bono by Dan Connolly of Word for Word Book Services, making it a more useful reference book.
The hard cover is cranberry linen with a gold title and sells for $65. The soft cover edition sells for $45. If you previously indicated that you wanted to reserve a book, you will be contacted. We will have a book signing event in May. If you would like a signed book, please send a check made out to the Jackson Historical Society, PO Box 8, Jackson, NH 03846, and say how you would like it signed and if you want a dedication. Once we have the books, Alice will start signing them as payments arrive.
If you have the 2015 edition and would like an index, we can email you a PDF file of the index. Request this from Jackson Historical Society.
Bob Cottrell, curator of the Henney History Room at the Conway Public Library, will be joining JHS as a part-time curator for the summer. His primary duties will be to organize the collections of the Society and handle data entry in the Society's software program, PastPerfect. He will also be available on Friday and Saturday mornings to offer tours of the Society. He will be working at the Society from Memorial Day to Columbus Day.
The 21st annual White Mountain Art Sale is now running.
There are over 60 items from private collectors, primarily 19th century paintings, but also contemporary paintings and memorabilia.
Items are available for purchase as they arrive, so check the catalog often.
The art sale will continue through the holidays. Paintings come and go frequently.
The art sale is the Society’s major fundraiser.
The consignor of a painting gets most of the sale price, but our small commission has paid for investing over $250,000
renovating the Town Hall; over $50,000 to dismantle the Trickey barn, which the Town was going to demolish to make way for the Whitney Center,
then donating the timbers to the Library; paying for the chairs in the Whitney Center;
paving the parking below the Town Hall before we were tenants; and many other projects.
Please contact info@jacksonhistory.org to consign artwork or learn more about the ongoing sale.
Visit the Art Sale page to find out what items are for sale.
A presentation on the life and legacy of Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908): philanthropist, Civil War nurse, educator, author, and renowned translator of dozens of French novels.
Katharine was born into affluence in England and emigrated to the United States at the age of eighteen. Fiercely independent and never married,
she volunteered as a nurse on a medical ship during the Civil War, before founding a vocational school for underprivileged girls.
A lifelong friend and trusted confidante of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, she was a philanthropist, a hospital administrator, and the author of The Other Side of War: 1862,
as well as the noted translator of dozens of novels written by French authors, including Moliere and Balzac.
She is included in History’s Women: The Unsung Heroines; History of American Women: Civil War Women; Who’s Who in America 1908-09;
Notable American Women, A Biographical Dictionary: 1607-1950 and A Woman of the 19th Century: Leading American Women in All Walks of Life.
Katharine owned three homes on Thorn Hill Road in Jackson. Her last home is now the Inn at Thorn Hill
In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island, to her home in Jackson, New Hampshire.
Despite the concerns of her family and friends, that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived; her own!
Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip.
Gail Ward Olmsted was a marketing executive and a college professor before she began writing fiction on a fulltime basis. A
trip to Sedona, Arizona inspired her first novel Jeep Tour. Three more novels followed before she began Landscape of a Marriage,
a biographical work of fiction featuring landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, a distant cousin of her husband’s, and his wife Mary.
After penning a pair of contemporary novels featuring a disgraced attorney seeking a career comeback (Miranda Writes, Miranda Nights),
she is back to writing historical fiction featuring an incredible woman with an amazing story.
Watch for Katharine's Remarkable Road Trip on June 19th. For more information, please visit her on Facebook and at Gail Ward Olmsted
Following the presentation and Q&A, the author will read from Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip. Signed copies will be available for sale.