This Old House:
The Abel J. Baker, Jr.
Federal Style Home of West Concord, NH
by Patricia Cummings
photos by James Cummings
Our Federal Style Home was built in 1821 in West Concord, New Hampshire by Abel J. Baker, Jr., an official "Timber Reeve" whose grandfather, Samuel Baker, was a grist mill and saw mill owner in the "Borough section" of West Concord.
I like to imagine a time when coaches and horses passed this old house. One of those carriages no doubt carried New Hampshire statesman, Daniel Webster, who lived north of Concord but came into town, often, to conduct his business and serve in the NH Legislature. In those days of Elm tree, lined roads, everyone had horses.
Antique embroidery
Nathaniel B. Baker
Abel J. Baker, Jr. had a son named Nathaniel B. Baker (1818-1976), a prominent lawyer and politician who served as Governor of New Hampshire from 1854-1855. He was the editor of the New Hampshire Patriot newspaper, and part-owner. The governor moved to Iowa after he lost his bid for a second term. During the Civil War, he honorably served as Iowa's Adjutant General (for the Union). He died in Des Moines. It is fun to think that he once lived in this house!
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_B._Baker
Antique embroidery
Second Owner
Benjamin Holden purchased the property from Abel Baker in 1835. Mr.Holden operated a successful woolen mill, (and perhaps more than one mill). There had been a mill located just north of our property. The mill stream that used to run it originated at Long Pond, the body of water that was responsible for the Flood of 2006 in Concord, and much erosion to our land.
The millworkers used Indigo to dye wool blue to make uniforms of Union soldiers during the Civil War. The mill employed many children in that era before child labor laws, and the photos of Lewis Hines that raised awareness of the dangers and unfairness of child labor. Today, a residential home sits where the mill used to be, and all that remains of the former thriving industry is a photo of adults and children lined up in front of the mill, when a moment in time was captured on film.
See more about Lewis Hines here.
Update on May 26, 2009 - Old Letter Found
As I was going through some old paperwork, I came across this letter, probably given to us by the late Shirley Campbell, daughter of the third set of owners of our home. On March 1, 1930, Henry Holden wrote this note from Napa, California:
About the B.F. Holden (Baker) house. I know that B.F. came to West Concord first and started in the woolen business. He was 2 or 4 years older than Daniel Holden, my grandfather, who was born in 1809 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Sometime after Jan. 1st, 1835, my grandfather went to West Concord.
At first, my grandfather lived in the house with the gabled windows down back of the old mill. (The mill he refers to was next door to us, and has long since been taken down). My impression is that B.F.'s children were all born in the Baker house. B.F. Jr. would have been 85 to 90 years old at this date. Therefore, they would have been occupying the house somewhere between 1840 and 1850.
Mrs. Caroline Bartlett, aunt of Mrs. Frank (Anne) Brown was, I think, a daughter of Capt. Baker, and lived in the house after he built it. The County Records of Deeds should show the transfer to B.F. (Holden).
Then I remodelled the house. The ell seemed much older than the main building and I tore it all down and built a new one. There was a big brick oven which I think we cased in, without tearing it out. The bricks in both chimneys were laid in clay. Timbers under the flooring are hard pine, quilt solid in 1911. The front windows had sliding panels for the lower sash, which I removed, and Mr. Chandler of Penacook used some of them for the cupboard doors in the pantry to preserve them..
What This Note Tells Us
Much information is revealed to us in this note. It was Henry Holden who tore down the back ell and rebuilt it, discounting the story we had heard about an Elm tree falling on the end of the house during the Hurricane of 1938, causing it to be rebuilt, although that could also have happened. It is interesting to know that it was he who enclosed the bee hive oven that was formerly present, and that children were born in this house
It is good to know that the "Indian shutters" that he refers to as sashings were remodeled into doors for the kitchen cabinetry (which is still in place) and was done by Mr. Chandler, presumably a carpenter. Penacook is actually part of Concord, in some regards, although today, they have their own regional school system.
Third Owners
Albert and Agnes Johnson bought this house in 1920 and established the first flower gardens here in 1922. Some very old cultivars remain, such as a pink color Lily of the Valley. The Johnsons beautified the neighborhood with their gardens and also sold flowers.
Our backyard, a year after the Flood of 2006. The Greenhouse had been situated on an extension of land to the left, in this photo. The "bench" composed of granite slabs was moved into place by James Cummings and James Gorham. On better days, one can sit there, in repose, to hear the brook babble and the birds sing.
One of the original Purple Iris plants, started by Mr. Johnson from seed, produced this gorgeous bloom, so many years later.
Greenhouse
They maintained a greenhouse at the back of the property and it was heated with a large woodstove. There they raised peonies and Iris, from seed, to set out in their gardens. They used other open space in the neighborhood to plant some of their flowers. We found a sign in the cellar that says, "Fair View Gardens." This refers to the business the Johnsons started in 1922. Many of their flowers decorated the West Congregational Church, just up the hill and around the curve.
Full-blown Peonies that still grow in our yard
The Greenhouse was only one of a number of out buildings. There was an outhouse and two chicken coops, hanging over the back banking, and a shed, in the back yard, composed of wooden pallets from Rumford Press, a former business in downtown Concord. That shed has since been dismantled.
Home Is Where the Heart Is
We are the fourth owners of this house, since 1821, a fact that does not cease to amaze me. This gray home with black shutters has been my home for more than a quarter of a century! My husband, Jim, purchased the house and nearly an acre of land in 1977, from the estate of Albert Johnson, who died at the age of 98.
The house has been a handyman's dream, or worst nightmare! Jim does all of the painting and plumbing repairs and even replaced all of the old ball and tube wiring with modern wiring, in the entire house! Any old house is a constant proposition of fix and repair, but this is now "home" and we love it!
Side view shows the back ell. The very end of it was knocked down during the Hurricane of 1938 and rebuilt. This was probably the first part of the house that was originally-built. There is "wavy glass" in many of the windows, throughout the house. If there were not so many mosquitoes, and up-your-nose blackflies in this neck of the woods, we might have considered adding a deck to the very back, on the left.
Thousands of African Violet Plants
In the room that is now our bedroom, Albert's wife, Agnes, raised more than one thousand African violets under artificial light, beginning in 1955. She kept a guest book in the foyer, and people who came from around the world to buy the plants, signed the book. The whereabouts of that book is unknown.
The Campbells had both a son and a daughter. Shirley Johnson Campbell, the last living relative, passed away in 2008. When we met Mrs. Campbell, she was intrigued to find out that I am a quilter. She told me that piles of quilt blocks made of fancy fabrics and embroidered had been thrown out, when they were cleaning up. She didn't think anyone would want "those old things." Crazy Quilt blocks from the nineteenth century. Yikes!
Example of a nineteenth century Crazy Quilt block, gift from a friend, collection of Patricia Cummings.
Configuration of House
Federal Style homes are known for their centrally-located front entry, flanked by four windows on either side. This house has a third floor that we suspect was used as servants' quarters, at a much earlier time. There is evidence of a stairway that once went directly from the third floor to the kitchen area.
Originally, there was no source of heat on the third floor, but kerosene heat was later used, and vented via the chimney. Today, the house has is heated with natural gas. There is an auxiliary heater in the kitchen that can be converted to burn either coal, wood, or natural gas.
Heated with Wood
The white, painted mantels in four rooms of the house indicate that there had been "real" working fireplaces there previously (and there had been). In the kitchen, there had once been a deep, brick, bread oven and a regular hearth type set up. That was all removed when someone wanted to modernize and put in a regular stove. We used the electric stove that had been purchased in 1947. With a few minor repairs, the unit lasted more than fifty years., and Jim retained the stove's owner's manual, that contains some recipes, if I remember correctly.
Hand Crocheted Curtains
Many of the windows had hand-crocheted curtains still in place. They appeared to be sturdy enough to wash, but with the constant light hitting them, they were more fragile than we thought, and fell to shreds, when they hit water.
Don't Spit on the Floor
A large closet on the third floor was evidently where a spitoon was located at one time. Someone had painted a message on the wall with the instruction to spit into the spitoon. Oh, my! More information than I cared to know!
Wooden Floors and Indian Shutter Cabinets
Our house has wooden floors throughout. In the "old" days, wide boards were considered inferior and were placed in the upper reaches of the house. That is true here. Those boards are probably Hemlock, and the widest of them are located in my "studio." The boards, with wide cracks between them, now, range from 16 1/4" to 16 3/4".
On the first floor, there is a mix of board widths. The kitchen has skinny boards as does the bathroom, a kind of Southern Pine, I believe. The room that once served as the dining area and is now our living room has wider boards. There is evidence that there was once a door that went out back (to where the well was) from the room that is now the bathroom. The claw foot tub that is still in use was a later addition. In 1821, I speculate that they were still carrying water into the house to heat up for cooking and bathing.
Usually, the smallest room of the house was the designated birthing room, as it was easier to keep warm. That room might have been our current bathroom as it is located just off the kitchen (which would have been a source of heat, as well as heated water). At one time, the same area seems to have been used as a pantry.
When the house was built, there was still the remembrance of Indian attacks. I say "Indian" not out of disrespect, but because that was the name given to Native Americans, at that time. The "Indian Shutters" could be pulled across the windows to keep arrows from penetrating the interior of a home.
Someone thought to use these old, so-called "Indian Shutters" to construct some of the kitchen cabinets, a neat feature of the house. Jim points out that the Indian Shutters which were wooden and could be closed to help keep out drafts, also served to keep out burglars. They latched from the inside.
Summer Porch
There is central stairway with fairly steep stairs. Many changes have been made to the house, over the years. Some of the decorative wooden pieces were probably added at a later time, on the exterior and on the windows. There is wainscotting in what is now the living room, as well as corner (upright) beams. The side "summer porch" is probably a much later addition. The area is a comfortable one to sit, watch the Orioles in the old Apple tree, or read a book, in better weather.
Hurricane Takes Down Back of House
The back ell of the house, unseen in the photo above, might have been the original structure. It was located directly above a root cellar used for storing root vegetables in dirt, over the winter. That has now been cemented in. The ell was crushed by a falling Elm tree during the Hurricane of 1938, and had to be rebuilt. No one, including us, has gotten around to refinishing the interior of that back space.
In this photo, taken of the Town Pound, several years ago, the sign was badly in need of painting, but has since been restored.
Neighbors
Communities such as this one in West Concord built certain structures to accommodate the needs of the residents. One of those needful places was called the "Town Pound." Here, loose livestock were kept within a granite enclosure with a gate, until the animal(s) could be retrieved by the rightful owner.
This house, down the street, is the former "Poor Farm" where the sick and ill-equipped to deal with life were placed. Paupers and others worked on this farm of more than 200 acres. The building fell to a dilapitated state but was bought in recent years and made over into a two family apartment building. In this picture, taken several years ago, more repairs were in progress.
This old house was in danger of being torn down or moved. It now serves as the "office" for Tanguay Construction who has built luxury, $400,000. condos with elevators on what used to be a hayfield, behind this house. This is a side view of the house that abuts the street.
Progress, You Say?
James Abbott built the house you see above in 1760. According to a book, Village of West Concord, New Hampshire, 1726-1976, published by the Bicentennial Committee of West Concord, the house has been continuously owned by family members since that time.
In recent years, two elderly people lived there. Hardly a light from the interior was ever seen, from the street. When it came time to sell the property, and lots of land, those who stood to gain financially from the estate finally settled on selling the place to a developer.
I quote page 14 of the book, "Boards two feet wide and axe-hewn white oak beams are as sound today as when they were dragged to the site by oxen 216 years ago. After the Civil War, many changes were made in the homestead by Simeon Abbot with money earned selling granite from Rattlesnake Hill."
The Neighborhood Is Changing
The Swenson Granite Works that brought so many Swedes and Finns to West Concord is still in place. The deep quarries, made from mining granite, are off-limits to the public, due to the danger involved. Yet, from time to time, high school kids get daring and go up there to drink and party and then a fatality is reported.
When we first lived here, we could walk to "Weeks Dairy Bar" just down the street, an indoor restaurant that served ice cream and food. Today, that building has been put to use for office space for Crowley Foods.
The old "Garrison School" where my son spent some time, as a student, has been converted to an extra building for Project Second Start, a program that teaches English as a Second Language to people who speak hundreds of other languages and are new to Concord or the United States. They also run an active GED program so that non-traditional students can attain a high school diploma. The original brick building for Second Start used to be a Fire Station and is brick, with a tall brick tower.
This House is Out of Sync With the Neighborhood
Our 1821 home is very much out of place in our immediate neighborhood, surrounded by more recently-built homes. We love the antiquity of this dwelling place, and all the secrets that it holds that can never possibly be revealed. We can only speculate as to the manner in which people lived here, except of course, for the wonderful anecdotes recorded forever by the West Concord Bicentennial Committee. Thank you!
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Copyright 2009. Patricia and James Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved. pat@quiltersmuse.com