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History · Saxtons River

Saxtons River’s history is mostly unwritten

The public archives hold just one old photo of Saxtons River. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Saxtons River’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Saxtons River’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Saxtons River’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Saxtons River’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Saxtons River’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSaxtons River Hotel Pre-1903: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Saxtons River came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Saxtons River.

Read it all →

According to Bellows Falls-based historian Lyman Simpson Hayes, writing in 1907’s History of the Town of Rockingham, the first settlement of the area that would become Saxtons River occurred in 1783, when Amos P. Cummings cut down the first trees of an “entirely unbroken wilderness of immense trees of primitive growth.” As late as 1795, there existed only two houses in the village — population growth was extremely slow.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Saxtons River, 1818 to 1907

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818Born hereHorace Henry Baxter is born here
  3. 1838Born hereJohn Butler Smith is born here
  4. 1838Born hereHenry Dwight Holton is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907In the archiveSaxtons River Hotel Pre-1903
By decade

Saxtons River, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Saxtons River Hotel Pre-19031907Saxtons River Hotel Pre-1903
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Saxtons River Falls 5-17-2014 11-04-48 AM2014Saxtons River Falls 5-17-2014 11-04-48 AM SR Falls 1-31-2014 3-10-09 PM2014SR Falls 1-31-2014 3-10-09 PM Vermont Academy2013Vermont Academy Vermont Academy Campus At Night2013Vermont Academy Campus At Night Golden Egg Restaurant2011Golden Egg Restaurant
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Saxtons River Hotel Pre-1903
Retake this viewSaxtons River Hotel Pre-1903, 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Saxtons River’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Saxtons River

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John Butler SmithNew Hampshire governor and businessman · b. 1838
Horace Henry BaxterAmerican businessman · b. 1818
Henry Dwight HoltonAmerican physician · b. 1838

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Has Saxtons River changed for the better?

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From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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