New Boston Historical Society
New Boston, New Hampshire
The property at 6 Bedford Road dates back more than 200 years.
It was once owned by a storekeeper and was part of New Boston's historic upper village.
Behind the Door: 6 Bedford Road
by Mary Atai (February 2022)
In the early 1800s, James Sloan, a storekeeper, sold this property to 3 Trull siblings, their brother-in-law, Sidney Hills, and another brother-in-law, Abraham Cochran. These men were all business partners in a tanning business and slaughterhouse which they ran on the property. It was an ideal location, as all commerce was in the upper village in those days.
The actual house was built by a carpenter-builder from Concord named John Leach. Mr. Leach led 33 other men in building the Church on the Hill across the road, completing it in 1823. Samuel Trull bought the leftover lumber that had been gathered for the church and had Leach build his house also, completing it in 1824. In 1831 Samuel Trull bought out the others. Town records show that he ran a store and tavern "in the upper village," most likely in this house.
The property passed along the families of these original owners until Abraham Cochran sold it in 1847 to Erastus Kellogg. Kellogg was the pastor of the church. After 5 years Pastor Kellogg was dismissed, due to poor health. He sold the house and moved to Manchester. The new owner, Sidney Hills, was married to Louisa Trull, and having been one of the earlier owners, took the house back into the family. He was a bootmaker and sexton in the church. He walked across the road to the church to ring the bell every day at noon for 20 years, for which he was paid. He was the first owner to farm the land. In 1860, the farm was valued at $4000, one of the most expensive farm properties in town. When Sidney died in 1888, his son, Butler Trull Hills, came into possession. Butler never married and when he died the home was willed to his sister’s son, George Butler Wason.
Butler’s sister, Clara Louise Hills, had married George Austin Wason, one of the most prominent men in town, having been in the Legislature, the Senate, and having served 6 years as county commissioner. Both the funerals of George Austin Wason and his wife Clara took place in this home, although they never lived there. Their son, George Butler, stayed in New Boston only in the summers and raised a fine herd of Hereford cattle. He worked for Wason, Pierce, and Co., wholesale grocers, eventually becoming head of the firm. He also became president of the National Wholesaler’s Association of America. He was the person who secured the enactment by Congress of the federal law requiring the net weight to be stated on packages to prevent the public being short-changed.
In 1927, as a memorial to their parents, George Butler Wason and his 2 brothers, Robert and Edward, gifted New Boston with the brick Wason Memorial Building in the village. This housed the town library for 83 years and is now the home of the Historical Society.
The Bedford Road property is comprised of 12 acres and a 50 foot, 2-story barn. The home has 5 bedrooms, 8 fireplaces, a 31-foot foyer running front to back with 2 rooms on either side of the hall, each room having its own fireplace. The upper level is basically the same.
After George died in 1950, his oldest son, George Fletcher Wason lived in the house until 1974 when he sold the homestead for $100 to his son, Charles, and Charles’s wife, Pat. They lived there year-round and were active members of the Historical Society.
The property passed out of the Wason family to the current owners, Nancy and Peter Clark, in 1994. The Clarks upgraded the home back to its former glory and meticulously maintain it for future generations.
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