Porter Hill History Tour
Carl Toko and I walked along Porter Hill Road looking for historical sites
I'm a member of the New Ipswich Historical Society. I received an inquiry about the location of a dedication monument for the First Meeting House in New Ipswich. I possessed a photo taken at the ceremony but no idea where it might be. It was a big rock and not easily overlooked.
I enlisted the aid of Carl Toko a fellow member of the Society and a life-long resident of New Ipswich . He had heard it was located near the Old Burying Ground on Porter Hill Road.
We set out on a quest for history.
Some of the documents mentioned that the monument was located on Old Country Road. This confused us because that road is located in another part of town. Later we speculated that we were walking along the remnants of Old Country Road.
We did not find the rock but I did take the opportunity to show Carl the town pound which was used to keep wayward cattle. It is located right next to the Old Burying Ground cemetery which is the oldest one in New Ipswich.
Hidden in Plain Sight
Carl texted me a few days later to let me know that he had found the monument. It was hidden in plain sight just a few yards to the right of the cemetery parking area. It was easy to miss since it is merely a rock among many other rocks. However it did have the plaque.
Batchelder-Champney House (2004 and 2020)
After our successful encounter, we proceeded up Porter Hill to see what else we could find. I noticed that the Batchelder-Champney House (c. 1785) had been renovated. I reviewed some photos in the New Ipswich Historical Society (NIHS) collection and I photo taken by Dennis Gauvin.
Dennis was a member of NIHS in 2004 when he worked for the post office. He took a number of photos of various buildings around town including this home on Porter Hill. The renovations is impressive.
The Stephen Farrar House
At the top of Porter Hill is the house built by Stephen Farrar II (1766-1829). the eldest son of Reverend Stephen Farrar (the name on the plaque. Most recently this was the location of Porter Road Sweets which specialized in crafted chocolate confections.
The Haunting
When I spoke to William Poole, the proprietor of Porter Hill Sweets about the history of the property he mentioned that it was haunted. He showed me a stereoscope of the house when it was owned by Colonel Bellows, a retired engineer and inventor. He told me that he often saw the ghost who matches the tall slender man behind and to the right of Colonel Bellows in the photo below.
