Durham Historic Association

The Durham Historic Association, established in 1851,  has honored Durham’s history and served the town in myriad ways. Since 1961, the Association has maintained a museum on the second floor of the old Town Hall that houses a growing collection of objects related to Durham, as well as archives of local and genealogical interest. Members of the Association are currently working toward focusing the collection to better showcase the Museum's holdings.

The Association has also sponsored the publication and reprinting of local histories sold through the museum. In 1985 the Association published the book Durham, New Hampshire: A History 1900-1985, an invaluable resource for students of local history.

The full-color pictorial brochure, "A Walking Tour," published by the Association in 1992 through a collaborative effort of the Association and the University of New Hampshire's Kellogg Program Office, provides highlights of the Durham Historic District. Copies of the brochure may be purchased inexpensively at the museum.
 

Meetings of the Association, often with scheduled programs or lectures, are always open to the public.

Durham Historic Association Museum

The Association's  museum has educated and entertained a full range of history buffs, from elementary school students to professional historians and researchers. The air-conditioned museum is free and open to the public and is located upstairs at the courthouse, on the corner of Route 108 and Main Streets (right by the traffic signal). Look for the old brick building with the curved door, a rarity even when first built. Parking is immediately behind the museum or at the nearby Town offices on Newmarket Road (Route 108 South).

See old photos and maps, farm implements, dolls, historic clothing, the 1875 town hearse, and much more!  Stair-lift access available.

OPEN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. PLEASE CONTACT NANCY SANDBERG, MUSEUM CURATOR, dhacurator@comcast.net

Recent Museum Acquisitions: Treasures of the Bragdon Collection

For over thirty years residents Bruce and Irene Bragdon have collected historical materials related to Durham. Recently they generously gave their extensive collection to the Durham Historic Association.

Many of the documents relate to General John Sullivan and other Durham leaders of the 18th and 19th centuries. A framed 1787 document  shows John Sullivan’s signature as President of the State of New Hampshire, appointing Alexander Graham to the rank of Lieutenant in the New Hampshire militia.

An 1824 daybook belonging to Hopley Drew, a Durham cabinet-maker, reveals his relationships with important Durham businessmen such as house-wright Jacob Odell, who built the 1802 George Frost house, now known as Three Chimneys Inn, and with merchant and shipbuilder Joseph Coe.

Twentieth-Century items in the collection include eight Durham cookbooks and a videotaped interview with the late Durham artist John Hatch.