Map of Jaffrey, N.H.

The first separately issued map of Jaffrey was the work of J.D. (Jonathan Danforth) Gibbs. Born in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, in 1796, Gibbs came to Jaffrey in 1821. He built the brick house on Main Street in Jaffrey Center. He was a boot- and shoemaker, and for 41 years kept a record of the deaths occurring in the town. His interest in antiquarian matters led him in 1850 to compile and publish the first proper map of Jaffrey based on his own surveys and research. He died in 1882.

His map clearly shows just how much the town had grown since Carrigain’s map of 34 years earlier. East Jaffrey is depicted here as a larger settlement than the Center, when not long before it was not much more than a river crossing and mill site. Note the churches (Congregational, Baptist and Universalist), School House No. 2 (now a residence at 59 School Street), the Bank (32 Main Street) and Jonas Melville’s grand stone house (now St. Patrick convent). The layout and size of the Center is not too different from today. The Meetinghouse, Melville Academy, the Brick Church and most of the other structures are recognizable. Among those that no longer exist are Cutter’s Hotel (shown on the Upper Common), the Armory across from The Manse (which was moved to 33 North Street), the blacksmith shop (labelled W. Lacy) and Schoolhouse No. 7. At the south end of the pond at the eastern edge of the village is shown the Cutter tannery, the stone and brick foundations of which can still be seen. The house of the map’s creator is next to the schoolhouse.