Wolfeboro Celebrates 250 Years of Colonial History
Wolfeboro, NH – Winter weary New Englanders planning summer get-a-ways and vacations will want to keep an eye on what’s happening in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire this year. Located on the southeastern shores of Lake Winnipesaukee the town that touts itself as the “Oldest Summer Resort in America” is celebrating its 250th anniversary with a yearlong schedule of special events and activities.
It was just two months after British General James Wolfe won the Battle of Quebec ending the French and Indian War in September, 1759 that a new town was chartered and named Wolfeboro. Unfortunately Wolfe never knew he had a town named after him; only thirty-three years old, he died from wounds sustained in that battle.
Among the highlights of Wolfeboro’s celebration will be a French and Indian War encampment the weekend of August 20-22. Billed as Colonial Homecoming Days, the community will welcome colonial re-enactors from throughout New England who will portray life as it was in this pre-American Revolution period.
“We expect to have groups representing each aspect of that time, the French, the British, the Provincial Army, which was made of continental soldiers, and Native Americans,” said Jim Rogers, president of the Wolfeboro Historical Society.
Dressed and equipped as they would have been 250 years ago, the re-enactors will camp out on Brewster Memorial Field on the campus of Brewster Academy, a private co-educational high school in Wolfeboro.
Located on Wolfeboro Bay and within easy walking distance of the village’s lakeside downtown full of shopping and dining, the encampment will be open to visitors free of charge. Re-enactors will offer demonstrations of everything from colonial cooking to musket handling.
A variety of related activities throughout town including a contra dance and local colonial-era craft demonstrations will complement the event.
“This event will be fun and educational for all ages,” said Mary DeVries, director of the Wolfeboro Area Chamber of Commerce. “Sharing our colonial history fits so well with other attractions we have in Wolfeboro such as the Wright Museum, our renowned World War II museum, the New Hampshire Boat Museum and the Libby Museum of natural history. The encampment will be outdoors, and that’s where Wolfeboro really shines. This is a very, very beautiful place.”
In 1853 poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote to a friend urging him to come to Wolfeboro describing “… its dwellings brilliant in white and green, scattered in their picturesque irregularity along the fertile slopes of the southward trending hills, looking out over crystal clear waters upon long broken ranges of misty mountains on the opposite shore. Nothing finer than its site can be found in New England.”
Wolfeboro takes its distinction as America’s first summer resort from the fact that in the 1770s New Hampshire’s last royal governor, John Wentworth, chose Wolfeboro for the site of his summer home. This gave rise to the town’s popular motto, “The Oldest Summer Resort in America.”
Wentworth wasn’t the last governor to summer here. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his wife Ann have a home in Wolfeboro today. This charming lakeside village is a magnet for tourists in all seasons. Among recent summer vacationers were French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his family.
“If you enjoy American history, if you enjoy the warm and welcome atmosphere of an ideal New England town, if you’d like to have a good time, we’d love to see you and your family!” concluded DeVries. Wolfeboro’s Colonial Homecoming Days are among many special events planned this year for the 250th Celebration. For more information contact the Wolfeboro Area Chamber of Commerce by calling 603-569-2200 or click www.wolfeborochamber.com.
Wolfeboro 250th Anniversary Celebration
2010 Calendar of Events
To Date
May 22
Colonial Dress Contest
Smith River Canoe Race
Wolfeboro Town Docks
June 1
Wolfeboro 250th Commemorative Book
Release Date
June 1 thru November 14
Wolfe Hunt
June 12
Colonial Barn Dance
July Fourth
American Legion’s Independence Day Parade
“Wolfeboro’s 250 Years
of History and Patriotism”
1:00 PM
August 20-22
Colonial Homecoming Days
French and Indian War Encampment
Brewster Memorial Field
October 10
Colonial Ball
Wright Museum
November 14
Closing Reception
Wolfeboro Inn
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