Welcome to the Jaffrey History Website
Jaffrey is a town situated in Cheshire County in the southwest corner of New Hampshire about 70 miles from Boston. It was first settled in the 1750s and incorporated in 1773. Named for the Portsmouth merchant George Jaffrey—who never visited the town named for him—it is said to be the only Jaffrey in the world. A diverse community of nearly 6,000 people, Jaffrey has a rich and interesting history which is the focus of this website. Our motive in developing it is to bring together multiple historical resources pertaining to Jaffrey and by doing so make the history of our town more accessible to students, researchers, historians, geneologists, property owners, public officials, businesses and institutions—in Jaffrey and further afield. |
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The third Granite State Hotel. The final version of the town's major hostelry was built of brick in the Italianate style in 1877 to replace the one that burned earlier in the year. This was destroyed by fire as well, in 1923. The hotel's size and siting clearly suggest its importance in Jaffrey's social and commercial life. (From Jaffrey Then and Now, p. 15).
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Main Street looking eastward from the Common. The Butler House still stands at the point where Squantum Road (now Stratton Road) branches off to the right at the then more substantial common. It was built in the 1820s by Joel Oakes Patrick who was responsible for many Jaffrey buildings including the Meetinghouse Tower and Bascom's Store (now Cournoyer-Hill Insurance) on Main Street. The mill office on the left was built in 1868 and just to the right stands the Town Elm which appears in many early views of downtown. Note the pile of firewood near the mills. Between 1868 and 1877. (From Jaffrey Then and Now, p. 4).
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