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Community
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cruited to hand stitch baseballs for the Major Leagues at their homes. The factory was even paid a visit from Babe Ruth himself who was a fan of their gloves.
But, that’s another story.
A photo in the Bristol His- torical Museum archives shows President and Treasurer John Dole of Dodge-Davis display- ing a uniform of the famed Joe DiMaggio, worn in 1940 and returned to the company as a promotional measure.
There is a whole lot more to learn at the museum, though.
Items they’ve collected and donations they’ve received over the years include wartime mem- orabilia dating back to the Civil War, spinning wheels, old pot- tery, and glassware. Numerous bits of nostalgia are also found in postcards and beautiful paint- ings of Newfound Lake. A visit can reveal how “Little Round Top” above Slim Baker Lodge got its name. A short hike up the trail above the lodge on New
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April 2024
An article in the old Enterprise newspaper, printed on Spring St. in Bristol, chronicles the day then Vice-President George H.W. Bush was the Grand Marshall in Bristol’s 1985 Fourth of July Parade. It and much more can be seen in the Bristol Historical Society’s museum at the junction of S. Main and Prospect Streets in downtown Bristol.
Chester Road, off Prospect St., provides a gorgeous view of Bris- tol from the top, known as Inspi- ration Point.
BHS member Lucille Keegan said, “We also have a collection of old ice-cutting tools that were donated by David Carr, who once had the ice house on West Shore Road.”
Ice harvesting helped pro- vide refrigeration for people and camps in earlier times and an older painting of Alfred Jenness cutting ice blocks in front of the ledges on Newfound Lake can also be seen amongst their dis- plays.
Local high school yearbooks, along with many other books on the area's history, are among their collection.
Central Square was a busy location more than 100 years ago, so another fascinating topic to explore at the museum is the trains that not only enabled res- idents to travel out of town but also brought all the visitors to the lake in the summer.
“Times were tough for farm- ers back then because they weren’t making a lot of money
off their crops, so they rented out rooms for visitors in the sum- mer,” Keegan explained.
Those who could afford it also stayed at a hotel in Central Square (which burned down many years ago), and many came to buy leather, tin goods, and other items at the shops and millenary factories lining the streets.
Today, people can head down Central Street to the parking lot on the right, where they will find the trailhead for Bristol Falls Park and the Pemi Trail. It is a pleasant stroll down to where the Newfound River meets the Pemigewasset River. There, they will discover the remnants of the route trains took north to Bristol and see the turnaround location, where they then head south to take visitors back home.
Memorabilia from the 205-year-old town’s celebrations over the years have a few sur- prises to be found at the museum as well. A more recent event that many will remember is the 1985 Fourth of July parade. Photos,
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