In The Begining…
Excerpted from a story by Howard Holman in the History of Fitzwilliam
“In 1961 the Bicentennial Committee began making plans for the Fitzwilliam Bicentennial celebration to be held in 1962. One of the events suggested was a song and recitation program to be done in costume as they did in the district schools of the 1880’s. There was only one district school building left that had not been renovated, torn down or moved. This was the Number 3 building on the Sandy Hollow Road at Laurel Lake. The owner of the land and building, George Godbeer, lived in a cottage across the road. He had been a student at the Number 3 School.
I wrote Mr. Godbeer and explained our idea for a school program. In a few days, I got a letter from his daughter, Mrs. Bechtol, saying that her father had passed away, but she would like to talk with me about the suggestion. When I went down and met with her, she said that she would like to give the building to the Town; however, circumstances made it difficult for the town to accept the offer. I came home and talked the matter over with the committee.
On August 22, 1961, at an informal gathering of citizens interested in preserving the history of the town, it was decided to try to organize a Historical Society in Fitzwilliam. A committee was formed.
With the help of the Cheshire County Historical Society, and the New Hampshire State Historical Society we drew up the necessary legal papers incorporating the Fitzwilliam Historical Society and registered it with the Secretary of State. The Society was formally organized at a meeting on September 8, 1961, at the Town Hall.
This allowed us to accept the generous gift from Mrs. Bechtol, and we soon received a deed to the Number 3 School building and half an acre of land.”
The major function of the society is to discover and collect any material which could help establish or illustrate the history of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire and its residents. Any person interested in the purposes of the society is eligible to join. If you would like to become a member of the Fitzwilliam Historical Society, membership forms are available at the Blake House Museum (when open) and on our Join Us page. The Board of the Historical Society meets regularly throughout the year.