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.
Alice Pepper's History of Jackson books have finally arrived from the printer. Alice will be signing them this week, starting with books for those who have prepaid.
The hard cover book is $65.00, the soft cover $45.00. The History of Jackson Part I is also available for $25.00. The Society accepts cash and checks, but not credit cards. Books can be purchased from the Society when it is open and from the Merchandise page.
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.
The Jackson Historical Society is delighted to announce that Bob Cottrell will be working at the Society for four hours on both Fridays and Saturdays. Bob is a scholar of Mount Washington Valley with long museum experience. He is currently the curator at the Henney History Museum in the Conway Public Library, where he will continue to work. He is past executive director of the Remick Farm Museum in Tamworth and comes with a lengthy and impressive resume.
This will be the first time in the Society’s history that it has not been run entirely by volunteers. We are looking forward to his help cataloging books and our archives and organizing our collections.
Thank you to all who donated--your donations will go a long way in supporting the work of the Historical Society.
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.
Thanks to a grant from the N.H. State Council on the Arts conservators from Curtains Without Borders, a non-profit from Vermont, worked to restore a theater curtain that is 124 years old. The restoration work on the 19½-by-8½-foot, muslin curtain was done from June 19 through June 21 in the main room of the Jackson Historical Society (JHS) by director Christine Hadsel of Burlington, Vermont., conservator Carolyn Frisa of Bellows Falls, Vermont., and assistant Mary Richardson of Maidstone, Vermont from Curtains Without Borders.
It is now on display on the first floor of the JHS but in October it will be moved upstairs to the Museum of the White Mountains at JHS. The curtain had been the backdrop for town meetings until meetings were moved to the Whitney Community Center in 2009. It was also used for school productions by the Jackson Grammar School prior to the construction of the Whitney Center.
The painted drapery depicts a man and a woman standing by an ornamental lake dressed in 18th century costumes with a wrought iron fence behind them. A trompe l’oeil proscenium drape is painted on either side of the imposing piece. Hadsel noted that the painted curtains, many of which she said desperately need intervention are commonly found in town halls, grange halls, theaters and opera houses. In New England, most of them were created between 1890 and 1940, although on rare occasions, pieces were painted both earlier and later.
Hadsel said of the curtain, “This grand drape is different from all other curtains we have seen anywhere. It is not signed, but it is definitely by someone who was trained as a scenic artist, rather than a local painter.” She added that the materials are identical to curtains produced in Boston, New York, Chicago and many other cities where there were studios with a stable of painters. She said that other than being very dirty and marred by former roof leaks, it is in excellent condition. The damage from the roof leaks has been much reduced, and the whole image is considerably brighter. Along with water stains, the conservators also removed “many years of dirt and layers of smoke.
They used dry sponges on the dirt and smoke, then pencils and paint to match the colors. They also mended tears, including one 12-inch hole, and did several minor patches.
“There are still stains, but the idea is to make the viewer look at the restored images past those stains,” said Hadsel, who added they decided to cut the top two-foot part that was damaged by the years of exposure to the water leak and smoke. It had been folded under and was not visible.
She and her crew are set to return in the fall to oversee moving the curtain to the second floor, with the Jackson Volunteer Fire Department agreeing to use their equipment to hoist it. The giant curtain is on a temporary base for now but will be moved onto a more permanent roller come fall. It can then be rolled up and dropped down for display. They also plan to present a program and talk on their work
--From The Conway Daily Sun Thursday, June 27 Link to article Note: This article may be behind a paywall.
