Set 1 of Churches and Chutters Near Our Cottage

Bob Jensen at Trinity University 

 

One of the most photographed churches in New England is about a half mile down the road from our cottage
It's called St. Mathews Chapel (Episcopal) and now only meets in the summer season using visiting ministers
http://www.iredellphotoclub.com/ipcgal/main.php?g2_itemId=200

In the 1880s the summer population of Sugar Hill—one of the famed summer resorts in the White Mountains—swelled to nearly 1000 as city folk flocked to its four grand hotels and several smaller ones. Often families came for the entire summer. Although visitors longed for their traditional church services, the closest Episcopal church was in Littleton, a lengthy trip by horse and wagon—not much faster by “motor car”. For several years Episcopal services were held in the ballroom of the Sunset Hill House. Eventually a committee was formed and money raised to build an Episcopal chapel on the land donated by Mr. Reeves, who owned the large Merrimonte Hotel just across the road. The architect was Jonathan Withers of New York City—for a “building of simple design”. The cornerstone was laid in 1893, and on August 30th of the following year the chapel was dedicated at a special service. The building was painted dark red and had a solid stone foundation. At first there were only wooden benches to sit on. The window behind the altar was not really stained glass but was of paper colored to look like stained glass. In time a beautiful window was given and real church pews were installed. In time the solid foundation was found to attract moisture and was replaced with the stout underpinning covered with lattice work that we have today. Eventually also the original dark red color gave way to white.

 

The two picture below appeared on one of the Sunday service bulletins last summer
There is a reflective pond just south of the church


This is a springtime photograph showing the lupine



I took the picture below during my first winter in these mountains

This is an antique photograph of St. Matthews in the early 1900s

Erika and I attend St. Matthews once or twice every summer
But we chose the Sugar Hill Community Church as our church largely because it is a year-round church

The picture below was taken in our living room
Pictured are our Pastor Ned Wilson, his wife (and pianist) Theresa and two of their ten children

A few years ago our very close San Antonio  friends Dick Wolff and his wife Sybil visited our home and church
Note that I had to stand on a step to be as tall as Dr. Wolff

About 10 miles north of our cottage is the historic town of Littleton
The church below is on Main Street in downtown Littleton

A short distance from this church on Main Street is the famous Chutters Candy Store
What makes Chutters famous is the world's longest candy counter
This is not a church but it is a place of Devilish temptations

Here's a view of LIttleton that shows the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in the background

Included in the Presidential Range is Mt. Washington having record high daily wind gusts (up to 231 mph)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington_%28New_Hampshire%29
The Ammonoosuc River flows through downtown Littleton ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoosuc_River

About two miles down the hill from our cottage is the Village of Franconia founded in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franconia,_New_Hampshire
Pictured below is the Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Franconia

Below is a picturesque church and covered bridge in Stark, New Hampshire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stark,_New_Hampshire

Whitefield, New Hampshire is a few miles east of Littleton in the shadows of Mt. Washington
This is the Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Whitefield

This is a church in Oxford, New Hampshire

This is a restored  steeple in the coastal town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth,_New_Hampshire

Saint Johnsbury, Vermont is about 17 miles north of Littleton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Johnsbury
This is a church in Saint J

Near the southern border of New Hampshire there's a historic town called Keene
This is an old post card

This is a shot taken on Beech Hill overlooking Keene, New Hampshire

A popular tourist attraction is the Shaker Village in Canterbury, New Hampshire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury,_New_Hampshire
This is the Shaker Church

My father grew up on an Iowa Farm near Lone Rock, Iowa
His parents gave a corner of their farm to build a Norwegian church called Blakjar
This is a picture that I took of the Blakjar church before it was moved to a park in Lone Rock
The cemetery where by grandparents and other Jensen relatives are buried remains on the corner of the farm

I lived in San Antonio, Texas for 24 years while I was on the faculty of Trinity University
One of the popular tours in that area is the Painted Churches Tour ---
http://www.klru.org/paintedchurches/
These are a few churches on the tour


Meanwhile in the summer back here in the White Mountains

Our cottage's history ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/CottageHistory/Hotel/Brochure/Brochure1900.htm

Houses near our cottage ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Houses/Set01/HousesSet01.htm

Hotels near our cottage ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Hotels/Hotels.htm

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

 

On May 14, 2006 I retired from Trinity University after a long and wonderful career as an accounting professor in four universities. I was generously granted "Emeritus" status by the Trustees of Trinity University. My wife and I now live in a cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/NHcottage/NHcottage.htm

Bob Jensen's Blogs --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Our address is 190 Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire
Our cottage was known as the Brayton Cottage in the early 1900s
Sunset Hill is a ridge overlooking with New Hampshire's White Mountains to the East
and Vermont's Green Mountains to the West

 

 

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/