Our new BOOK!

“Staying Small in a Century of Growth. Canterbury New Hampshire 1900-2000”.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Canterbury, New Hampshire, was an agricultural town with a declining population, grouped in farm-based neighborhoods with one-room schools, poor roads, and different religious affiliations, including a Shaker village. Unaffected as yet by the automobile and the telephone, residents tended to live and work within a small distance of their homes.

The devastating effects of a great fire in the town center during World War Two signaled a change in the town’s identity that took hold over the second half of the century. A rise in population blended with an agricultural past to create a new identity as a residential community wishing to retain and preserve its rural quality.

Through the decades, Canterbury retained a distinct sense of self, embodied in a can-do spirit that continues to bring residents together around projects and traditions big and small. This twentieth-century history is an example of that self, involving community fundraising and the time and talents of more than two hundred people.
The result of their efforts—supporting those of our remarkable author, Kathryn Grover—is a special account of a special place and how it came to be so. We hope you enjoy it.

The book is available at the Canterbury Country Store and also available at the town library.  You may also have a copy shipped to you by clicking here to download an order form.