The players within Concord’s historic district at the farthest stretch of North Main Street are considering ways they can attract history lovers from the heart of downtown.
The chief suggestion born out of a meeting of constituents last week was a self-guided walking tour to include sites of historic significance, not unlike Boston’s famed Freedom Trail.
The district, which includes the Kimball-Jenkins Estate and the Pierce Manse, is slightly more than a half-mile from the State House. But there are barriers more significant than the walk, including a lack of signage to alert would-be visitors to the attractions and a difficult crossing at the intersection of Bouton Street, according to the group’s discussion.
“It’s a little bit of a forgotten historic district,” said Ryan Linehan, the operations manager of the Kimball-Jenkins Estate, which hosted the discussion.
With the Main Street reconstruction complete and the possible future expansion of weekend touring hours at the State House pending, the city is attempting to better position itself as a tourism destination. But some visitors may not know to travel to the mostly residential historic district at the north end of Main Street, where the former home of the only New Hampshire-born president and a historic estate that now houses an art school are located.
Linehan said a walking tour, possibly developed in conjunction with the chamber of commerce and historical society, “would be pretty simple, low impact. It wouldn’t really bother anybody, and it would just add to the neighborhood and it would help preserve the history of it.”
The meeting last week, which was attended by several people who live in the neighborhood, as well as history buffs and representatives of participating organizations, was a chance for people to share their thoughts and opinions, Linehan said.
“We don’t want to make changes if people don’t want changes,” he said. “We are very very aware that it is a residential neighborhood, so we’re careful not to do anything to upset the neighbors.”
But on the walking trail idea, there were no objections.
Linehan said staff of the Kimball-Jenkins Estate would work to flesh out the idea over the winter, possibly to present a more complete picture in the springtime.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)