|
Portland & Ogdensburgh Railroad,
when completed, will pass through
Littleton.
LONDONDEIiRY.
Rockingham County. There is
but very little waste land in this
town. There are no hills, swamps,
nor stagnant water of any extent.
The soil is unusually productive,
and very easy of cultivation. But
one town in the county excels it in
the value of its agricultural prod-
ucts. The farms are pleasantly lo-
cated, on gentle swells, with inter-
vening vales, which present a
beautiful farm scenery, rarely ex-
celled by any farming country in
New-England. Located on a slight
elevation, is a pleasant village and
the center of considerable trade.
Streams and Ponds. The prin-
cipal stream in town is Beaver
River, having its source in Bea-
ver Pond, a fine bodjr of water,
in the form of a circle, about three
hundred rods in diameter, and
about one mile north-east from the
village. Scoby’s Upper, and Low-
er and Shield’s Ponds, lie about
three miles north-west from Bea-
ver Pond. On the streams issuing
from these ponds, are some valua-
ble meadows, producing excellent
crops of grass, &c.
Employments. The inhabitants
are generally devoted to agricul-
ture. Over 8,000 bushels of corn,
5,000 bushels of oats and barley,
and 3,000 tons of hay are annually
produced; also, over 200,000 quarts
of milk are annually sold. Con-
siderable attention is paid to the
manufacturing of sale boots and
shoes; over 84,000 pairs are annu-
ally manufactured. |
Resources. Productions of the
soil, $ 146,704; mechanical labor,
$33,300; money at interest, and
stocks, $ 15,700; deposits in sav-
ings banks, $145,614; stock in
trade, $ 6,600; from summer tour-
ists, $ 1,000; professional business,
$ 12,000.
Churches and Schools. Presby-
terian, Rev. William House, pas-
tor; number of members, 150;
Methodist, Rev. J. A. Steele, pas-
tor ; number of members, 75; Bap-
tist, -. Total church valua-
tion, $ 18,000.
There are eleven schools in
town; average length for the year,
twenty-two weeks. Amount of
money annually appropriated for
school purposes, $1,925.20; value
of school houses, $ 5,750.
Library. Londonderry Public
Library, 150 volume?.
First Settlers. Londonderry was
one of the first settled towns in the
State, and her sons and daughters,
to-day, look back with pride upon
their forefathers, who were the
first settlers of this ancient and
noble town. They were distin-
guished for their sobriety, indus-
try, intelligent, prudent, and sound
judgment, and natural ability.
For a brief history of the first set-
tlement, we can give none better
than a few extracts from Hay-
ward’s Gazetteer.
“ Londonderry, which formerly
included the present town of Der-
ry, was settled in 1719, by a colony
of Presbyterians, from the vicinity
of the eity of Londonderry, in the
north of Ireland, to which place
their ancestors had emigrated
about a century before, from Scot-
land. They were a part of 120
families, chiefly from three par-
ishes, who, with their religious
instructors, came to New-Eng-
land in the summer of 1718. In |
