Epping

By Corey Blanchard

With its lush forests, fertile land, and abundant waterways, Epping began attracting European settlers as early as 1710 before incorporating as an independent town in 1741. The town became home to successful farms, lumber operations, and mills built along the Lamprey River. Clay that lay beneath the fertile soil emerged as an important resource when commercial brickyards began popping up all over town in 1822. Epping became a crossroads for multiple rail lines, which spurred economic development and population booms. In 1862, undeveloped land became home to the Methodist campground Camp Hedding. Factories, especially those specializing in shoes, were established in the area as well. Epping's industrial concerns lasted until the late 20th century, when it grew as a retail center at the junction of Routes 101 and 125. Epping has been home to prominent residents, including a Revolutionary War general, three New Hampshire governors, a world heavyweight boxing champion, the first person to circumnavigate the world on a motorcycle, and a female collegiate basketball great.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Feb 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781439649527

Corey Blanchard

Corey D. Blanchard, a lifelong resident of Epping, is a graduate student of history at the University of New Hampshire. Most of the images have been drawn from the Epping Historical Society, which works tirelessly to preserve and celebrate the past and present culture of Epping.

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INTRODUCTION

The land that is now Epping was left with rolling hills, winding rivers, deep forests, and even deeper deposits of clay after the retreat of the great ice sheets that covered the North American continent. Native Americans of the Squamscott subtribe of the Pennacok Nation hunted and gathered along the banks of the Lamprey River, atop Red Oak Hill, and in the forests. In fields, they planted the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. The tall, sturdy corn stalks acted as trellises to support the beans while the broad leaves of the squash plants guarded against water and wind erosion and prevented the growth of weeds. This Native American system of farming both increased crop yields per acre and reduced the amount of labor needed to support the field.

When Rev. John Wheelwright helped found Exeter, one of the four original towns of New Hampshire, in 1639, European settlers began drifting into the part of Exeter that would become Epping. For a time, European settlers and their Native American neighbors were able to live without incident. That changed with the start of King Philip’s War, named after the Native American leader King Philip, in 1675. The war originated in Plymouth Colony due to tensions that arose from European encroachment on traditional Native American lands. The war soon spread throughout New England, bringing tremendous violence and destruction from both European soldiers and Native American warriors. Three garrison houses were constructed within Epping to help protect the western boundary of Exeter. Though King Philip’s War largely subsided after the death of King Philip in 1676, the severity and cruelty of the war left bitter tensions between New Englanders and Native Americans for many years.

Thereafter, conflicts persisted between Europeans and Native Americans. During Queen Anne’s War, which lasted from 1702 to 1713, Col. Winthrop Hilton, the highest-ranking New Hampshire officer, made himself notorious among the Native Americans for his part in the raid on Grand-Pré; the 1707 ambush and massacre of 18 Native Americans at Casco, Maine; and the siege of Port Royal. On June 23, 1710, while Colonel Hilton and 16 of his men were striping bark off trees felled for use as masts in Epping, a group of Native Americans ambushed and killed the colonel and two others. Colonel Hilton’s body was reported at the time to have been found scalped with a hatchet stuck in the head and a lance through the heart.

As the years of turmoil slowly settled into an uneasy peace in Exeter, more and more settlers made their way into Epping. By 1741, it was decided by the residents of what would become Epping that the nine-mile trip to Exeter was too far to travel to attend town meetings and worship at the church. This was a common justification for the creation of new towns throughout New England at the time. Nine miles over hot and dusty roads in the summer, muddy and flooded roads in the spring and fall, and snow- and ice-covered roads in the winter could be dangerous or downright impossible to travel every Sunday to worship in the church that was most often supported by taxes. This led many parishes to apply to support their own church, which most often meant being established as their own towns. Epping’s petition, signed by 56 members of the community, was accepted, and it became the first town to be incorporated by the first governor of the province of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. Governor Wentworth, who had spent time in England, named the new town Epping for Epping in the county of Essex, England.

Now established as an independent town, Epping began to steadily grow in population and influence. In 1746, Joshua Folsom built the first mill in West Epping on the Lamprey River. Many more mills followed in the years to come as the winding Lamprey River proved to be a perfect source of hydropower. More farms sprang up in the fields and over the rolling hills as lumbering operations continued to supply masts and planks for New England shipbuilding and the construction of more homes, barns, warehouses, and all manner of businesses.

Epping continued to grow spiritually as well. In 1747, the Congregational Church hired Rev. Robert Cutler as its first pastor. The church grew in popularity under Rev. Josiah Stearns. Hired on in 1758, Reverend Stearns’s sermons drew large crowds that filled the church to capacity. He would later be a strong supporter of seeking independence from Great Britain, giving both money and his sons to the struggle for independence. In 1772, Joshua Folsom began preaching to the Epping Society of Friends, better known as Quakers for the way that some would begin to tremble as they were touched by the inner light.

After the 1775 raid on Fort William and Mary in Portsmouth Harbor, 8 out of about 100 barrels of powder seized by New Hampshire patriots were stored in Epping. In 1775, Epping had a population of 1,569, and when the Committee of Safety of New Hampshire requested that the selectmen of each town have males over the age of 21 sign the Association Test in 1776, a total of 209 men signed the pledge, which read, We the subscribers do hereby solemnly engage and promise that we will, do the utmost of our power, at the risk of our lives and fortunes, with arms oppose the hostile proceedings of the British fleets and armies against the United American Colonies. Of the 181 men of Epping who fought during the American Revolution, at least one was present at the Battles of Lexington, Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Saratoga, as well as the doomed March on Quebec and more. Col. Henry Dearborn, who spent most of his youth in Epping, distinguished himself at Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga, Freeman’s Farm, Saratoga, and Monmoth and was present for General Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown. He rose