Ordering Information
$25.00, 6 x 9, paperback, 240 pages, 100 b&w images, index
ISBN: 978-1-942155-59-1
To order copies contact the publisher.
Also available at the Loudon Town Office Building, located at 55 S. Village Rd Suite 1 Loudon, NH 03307.
Land of Low Hills: Loudon, New Hampshire: the First 250 Years, 1773-2023
by Melissa Moore
Description
Enjoy your copy of Loudon’s first town history covering two hundred and fifty years of the Land of Low Hills! There are wonderful stories all around us, captured beautifully by author, and town resident, Melissa Moore.
Some were collected from Loudon residents who shared memories of their one-room schoolhouse days and their experiences on Loudon farms. Detailed research into the town’s well-kept archives, as well as state-wide sources, brings to light many interesting aspects of town development, such as the growth of the racetrack businesses and their impact on this small town. Find out which grand, country Loudon homes joined the hospitality business and welcomed guests during the busy tourist season. At the end of the nineteenth century, five dollars a week would reserve city folk a fine country vacation. Discover details about Loudon’s general stores in the early 1900s. New inventions to hit the consumer market were promoted in old-time store catalogs. Vacuum-powered clothes washers and kerosene lamps were just two of the new products capturing all the attention. Learn how the Hurricane of 1938 impacted Loudon and the region. This event and Loudon’s bountiful forest resources jump-started many forest-based businesses. Enterprising residents cut trees, transported logs, and operated lumber mills as a reliable source of income.
This book is one you will want to keep on your shelf and share another copy with friends and family. Individuals interested in exploring more of Loudon’s history are encouraged to visit Charlie’s Barn on South Village Road, home to Loudon’s Community Room and the Loudon Historical Society and Museum.
About the Author
Melissa Moore is a freelance writer with published articles in regional and national trade journals including Northern Logger and Timber Harvester, Bird Watcher’s Digest, and American Bee Journal. She gained additional writing experience during her time working as a reporter and field editor for two regional farm newspapers and editing a horticultural newsletter. Melissa’s appreciation for great stories and the written word led her to earn a certificate in library science. For twenty years, she worked as a children’s librarian and library media specialist. Melissa is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she earned a degree in history and secondary education. She is most at home surrounded by books and spending days at her family farm. In 2018, Melissa took an early retirement and embarked on writing this Loudon history book. This multi-year project sent her on the road to conduct interviews and visit numerous research libraries in Concord, Durham, and Loudon. She moved to Loudon in 1983 when there was just one school-bus route through the neighborhood and all grades one through twelve rode together. Public kindergarten was not available. Loudon had a Concord ZIP code but the route number made the address more accurate. The fire station shared a parking lot with the library. The library was the size it was when it was first built in 1909. She has experienced forty years of progress since moving here and enjoyed learning about Loudon’s history. She hopes this town history book will cause town pride to swell to great heights and foster an appreciation for the efforts of all those who have gone before us to build our community.
