226 Main Street, Lancaster, New Hampshire 03584, United States
Society history
Our Beginning
The Lancaster Historical Society was originally incorporated in 1965 as an IRS 501c3 nonprofit corporation with the purpose of purchasing the former Wilder-Holton house at the junction of US Route 2 and US Route 3 at the north end of Main Street in Lancaster New Hampshire.
Bylaws and a Mission Statement were created by the original incorporators.
MISSION STATEMENT
“The mission of The Lancaster Historical Society is to maintain and promote Lancaster’s heritage through the acquisition and care of our rich collections of artifacts, documents and other information of historic value and to make these resources available to others researching our heritage. We also serve as an educational resources through public presentations and lectures, printed information, exhibits and special events.”
EARLY HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY
Lancaster (population 3100) is a pretty town located in Coos County, New Hampshire. Our Main Street still has many lovely homes and at the very head of Main Street is our historic Wilder-Holton House. This building has so many stories to tell.
The Wilder-Holton House was built by Jonas Wilder in the year 1780, just sixteen years after the Lancaster Grant was secured. Wilder had his own sawmill and provided his own materials for the construction. The house was the first two-story house and is now considered the oldest house in what is now Coos County. From its beginning until 1917 this was the home of a good sized family farm until a fire in 1917 destroyed all the barns and put a stop to active farming.
From 1780 to 1794 when a meeting house was built, the Wilder home served as a place to hold church meetings, town meetings and social events. They could do this because the second floor was one large room with swinging partitions to make smaller rooms as necessary or left open for gatherings. There was a wooden bench that went around the entire second floor space for seating purposes and one section remains today safely hidden away in a closet.
The Holton family purchased the home from the Wilder family in 1830 and lived there until the Lancaster Historical Society purchased the home from Mrs. Lucius Holton in 1965. Since that time the house has become a museum holding a wonderful collection of artifacts showcasing the history of the people of Lancaster. It is a wonderful place to bring children and introduce them to local history on a personal level. The society encourages local schools to take advantage of this amazing resource.
