New Boston Historical Society
New Boston, New Hampshire
Charles and Frances Townes
Charles and Frances Townes at Hillcroft Farm

The Townes Family of South Hill

Charles and Frances Townes first came to South Hill in New Boston as summer residents in 1961, with their four daughters, Ellen, Linda, Carla, and Holly. Ellen Townes Anderson is now a year-round resident of our town, along with her husband Craig. In March of 2025, Ellen wrote a story for the New Boston Beacon about her weekends and summers at her family's Hillcroft Farm on South Hill; we've reproduced her column on this page. To coincide with the publication of her story, Ellen prepared a wonderful exhibit for display in the Whipple Free Library. We've included some photos of this exhibit below her column.

Please note that Ellen's mother was Frances Hildreth Townes — that's "Townes" with an "s" — not to be confused with the late Frances Byam Towne, whose Upton grandparents once owned the farmhouse that's now Hillcroft Farm. Ellen's mother Frances Hildreth Townes is remembered for her work with the homeless in Berkeley, California, among other accomplishments, and you'll see signs for the Frances Hildreth Townes Forest when you visit New Boston's Frog Rock.

The Origins of Hillcroft Farm
by Ellen Townes Anderson (with help from Craig Anderson and Carla Townes Kessler)
Farmhouse
Farmhouse at Hillcroft Farm, 266 South Hill Rd. Siding on the right has its original 18th century clapboards (after storm of 2023).

Charlie Townes, a professor and provost at MIT in Cambridge when he first visited New Boston, grew up on a farm in Greenville, South Carolina and treasured his childhood farm experiences. He felt that farming was an education in life — caring for animals and gardens, fixing things, and learning about the natural world. But in 1961 he was a long way from farming. He wanted his daughters, however, to have some of the experiences he had had as a youth. And so, he bought a farm on South Hill Rd owned by the Woolleys, who had bought it from Charlie Upton. The Woolleys had started renovations on the house but much of the old house remained, some parts dating back to the late 1780s. Our father also hired the first of several caretakers to return the place to a working farm.

Hillcroft Farm, named by our mother, was a second home for the family and we were mainly there on weekends. But with the supervision of Brian Towne, the caretaker/farmer for more than 40 years, the four sisters learned about caring for horses, sheep, and cows and helped with haying. From Donna Towne, we learned to can vegetables and make jam, which we took to the Hillsborough County Fair; we have the blue and red ribbons to prove it. Eventually our father accrued about 2000 acres, (some from Roger W. Babson) including the property with the famous Frog Rock on it. But his interests were primarily in conservation. He gave property along the Piscataqoug River to the Piscataqoug Watershed Association, and about 1000 acres to the New England Forestry Foundation. NEFF now owns the land on which Frog Rock sits. One of his last acquisitions was a property with a heron rookery on it. The rookery, under a conservation easement with NEFF, has about 12 active nests each spring.

MapleSyrup

Our parents, Charlie and Frances, loved hunting for mushrooms and birdwatching and took walks regularly through the property, as did the whole family. We explored the bogs close to Francestown Turnpike and picked wild cranberries for Thanksgiving, skated on frozen ponds, skied down a steep hillside pasture after our father made a makeshift rope tow with an old tractor, and swam in Gregor Pond [between South Hill Rd and the river], among many outdoor activities. We also helped Brian make maple syrup by emptying the sap buckets, and tasting the product. Syrup is still being made today by the current caretakers Tony and Ellie Cantin, but the sap is now collected with long green tubing which snakes through the woods. Christmas trees, originally planted by Brian and Charlie Peak (the caretaker after Brian) are also sold at the farm property on South Hill.

Although Dr. Townes had a busy professional life, and was awarded many medals, including a Nobel Prize in physics, he always made time to be in New Boston — even when he moved to California to do astronomy at the University of California in Berkeley! He and Frances visited at least once a year. For them spring was special as they looked for early mayflowers, a plant they had seen in New Hampshire during their courtship years. They are both buried at the farm in a place chosen by them with a view of the surrounding hills and Crotched Mountain.

Hillcroft farm instilled in the family a love for nature and some understanding of the challenges and rewards of farming, and continues to do so. Presently not only Charlie and Frances' daughters and their spouses come to visit, but so do grandchildren and now great grandchildren. During the pandemic, the farm was a welcome retreat to a grandson from NYC where infection rates were high. Family visits often center around July 4th. As kids, we occasionally contributed to the parade floats. Now we bring our children to enjoy the parade and the fairground events. Our father also attended the Community Church when in town. Ellen and husband Craig (Anderson), who moved to New Boston about 10 years ago, are now members of the church.

We hope the farm will be around for a long time to protect the land on South Hill and, in a small way, the rural way of life in New Boston. New Boston has been part of our family's history for over 60 years. We are appreciative of the place and its people. Come up for a taste of syrup on Maple Weekend and to visit.

Charles Townes exhibit at the Whipple Free Library — March 2025

ParkBench
The original life-size statue of Dr. Townes on the park bench where he had his idea for the maser and the laser may be seen in Greenville, S.C., where Dr. Townes was born.

"Who is Charles Townes?"

NobelPrize
A replica of Dr. Townes's Nobel Prize

WhiteGloves
Frances Townes wore this dress and a pearl necklace when she met the King of Sweden.

Matchbox
Charles Townes received several laser gadgets as gifts. This laser pointer inside a matchbox came from Germany.

Historical note: the Townes family owns Hillcroft Farm to this day, but Ellen and Craig live in the house next door. Their home was previously owned by John and Irene Goodenough, who bought the 18th-century house at 238 South Hill Rd in 1960, about the same time as the Townes bought Hillcroft Farm. Dr. Goodenough received his Nobel prize in 2019 at the age of 97, ten years after he and Irene moved to Texas, for work unrelated to that of his former neighbor Dr. Townes.