As the years pass and I am engaged in Concord history presentations throughout the greater Concord area, I find myself looking back to the origin of this beautiful place we call our home. I speak to the younger generations and remain curious about the way our little town is perceived. I find it amusing to see in some cases the level of knowledge quite impressive with some of the younger people than those that have lived within my generation.
As a historian, I enjoy looking back, perhaps nostalgically, at the years from the past. Years when my very own ancestors walked the cobbled streets of Concord and endured much hardship amongst the few rewards they enjoyed during simpler times. As the generations before can attest, there are times of enjoyment in life coupled with sadness. Each generation endures their own wars, economic times, lifestyles fads and methods of living. Time has a way of softening the hard edges and allowing us to keep the good memories close to our hearts where they belong. It was John W. Gardner that said, “history never looks like history when you are living through it.” Simple words with vast meaning and wisdom.
Travel back with me to our earlier times, years that were lived on the very same streets here in the city of Concord, New Hampshire.
It was in the year 1725 that our beloved town was granted by the Massachusetts Bay Colony as the town of Penacook Plantation. The good citizens were subjects of the crown and settled as they established themselves in the first years. There were chores at hand and buildings to be built while farms were established and a day of worship observed. Our ancestors certainly knew the value of hard work, and survival was of the utmost concern. They lived their lives as most people of the era did, with a deep appreciation for the little things that provided for them and their growing families.
As the decades arrived, there was much talk about the location of our town – the citizens felt that they should not be paying taxes to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, nor should they be governed as their neighbors in Massachusetts were. In 1733, the Penacook Plantation was incorporated as Rumford by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was in 1741 that it was determined Rumford was not within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, it was actually located in the Province of New Hampshire. There was bitter litigation for many years, but our ancestors finally prevailed when this dispute was settled in 1762 in England by the Privy Council.
With joy in their hearts, our ancestors felt there was a need to change the name of our town once again to show that there were no bitter feelings toward Massachusetts. It was just three years after the Privy Council in England determined Rumford was in fact located in the Province of New Hampshire that Rumford officially reincorporated, changing the name to Concord in 1765.
We were heading toward the Revolutionary War and the people of Concord were very upset with British rule as well as the heavy taxation. Our New Hampshire men fought gallantly and made our state very proud as they fought alongside the men from Massachusetts and beyond.
As the war concluded and victory was celebrated, our community continued to prosper and grow, new buildings were added and the population grew after the war. It was on June 23, 1785, that our Main Street was at last formally discussed and a final plan set. This plan called for Main Street to be 10 rods wide (165 feet). With discussion, the early citizens of Concord compromised and contracted the street to the current width, 6 rods wide (100 feet). It has been said that if the original plan of 10 rods had remained, Concord would have had one of the grandest Main Streets in the country.
When our ancestors changed the name of our town to Concord in 1765 it conveyed a very important message. There was deep concern to remain close and without discourse with our neighbors in Massachusetts. It was with this thought in mind that the name Concord was chosen, for the definition of the word “Concord” is “agreement or harmony between people or groups.”
With the name of our town changed and the incorporation of Concord, we offered our friends to the south peace with a desire for harmony and a strong foundation to support one another as we marched into battle fighting for our independence from England.