Acworth

Efforts are underway to preserve the Acworth's "Church-on-the-Hill." Built in 1821 by Congregationalists, the church was designed by Elias Carter and has stood for nearly 200 years on the highest point in the town.

The steeple has been removed for safety reasons, and plans are in motion preserve the church.

Concord

Dimond Hill Farm, a majestic, 107-acre hilltop property dominating Concord's western gateway, has been preserved from development and sustained as a working farm, thanks to an alliance of local citizens, conservation groups, the City of Concord and the Preservation Alliance. Dimond Hill has been a working farm since the late 1700s and is now an area landmark with a revenue-generating farm stand that sells fresh produce, flowers and hay to local customers.

Though the property is appraised at $1.5 million, the farm's owner, a trust in the names of the children of the deceased owners, agreed to sell it for $300,000 less than its market value if the property is conserved. The Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program awarded more than $300,000 for the purchase, while Concord's City Council approved $700,000. The Trust for Public Land, its partners and local activists raised the final $200,000 needed to acquire the farm.

The Preservation Alliance will hold the preservation easement to ensure the character of the farmstead is preserved. Five Rivers Conservation Trust will hold the conservation easement and Equity Trust will hold the fee interest. An heir of the former owners will farm the property in a life estate, and Equity Trust is committed to attracting future farmers. The Trust for Public Land brokered the deal and will serve as interim owner.

Harrisville

Historic Harrisville, long considered a state and national model for its preservation and adaptive use of mill buildings in a working village, is in the spotlight again thanks to its association with a 19^th century cement.

The American Natural Cement Conference is interested in hearing about how Historic Harrisville came to use Rosendale natural cement and about the historic site's experience in using the material. Rosendale is a natural cement made from limestone with a high proportion of clay materials. Unlike pure lime, which requires air to set, natural cement will set under water. In the 19^th century, before the widespread availability of Portland cement, these properties made natural cement especially important for building in wet conditions.

Historic Harrisville's Cheshire Mill #1 may be the earliest known structure built using Rosendale and the structure was recently repointed with it. Harrisville, the only National Landmark village in New Hampshire, is considered the most intact early 19^th century mill village in America.

Walpole

The Walpole Historical Society had a problem. A pile of antique and collectible clothing had been donated to it over the years and it had no way to care for them. Most of the clothing had been piled on large tables in the old chemistry lab in the 1831 former school building that houses the Historical Society.

In 2001, Carol Christian organized a group of volunteers to inventory, conserve and catalogue the collection. One of the first requirements was to make 1,500 padded hangers for the costumes. Hanger covers were individually sewn by volunteers at home and later stuffed with wire hangers wrapped in cotton batting. With this small start, the group-which eventually numbered more than 150 volunteers-began to make headway. Eventually, all the textile items owned by the Society, such as quilts, hats, christening clothes and handbags, were included.

Once inventoried, tagged and conserved, the clothing was stored on long racks covered with old bed sheets, but the need for archival boxes became evident. Also, the room used for storage had hanging plaster, a tin ceiling and some unacceptable finishes.

The room was repaired and repainted, and the committee found manufactured shelving, adding 80 feet of hanging storage to 1,000 linear feet for flat storage of the boxed items. By Christmas, 2004, the project was complete. The collection has now been added to "America's Closets," a list of costume and textile collections from around the nation.