Seven to Save 2023: King Street

King Street, Boscawen’s Main Street, struggles to manage growing development pressure from nearby cities, including Concord.

Established in 1733 as Contoocook Plantation, the 1.5 mile stretch of two colonial routes became the last established town on the west side of the Merrimack River prior to what is now French Canada.

Boasting an impressive collection of houses from the Federal and Greek Revival era, it may be one of the densest and largest collections of 18th and early 19th century houses in interior New Hampshire. The village became home to many famous men and women, including Daniel Webster’s first law practice, Ezekiel Webster, William Pitt Fessenden, and John Adams Dix, and Lucia Ames Meade. After the revolution it became a major trade route, with ox-teams and teamsters bringing commerce to Newburyport, Boston, and Portsmouth. The coming of the Railroad in 1846 added to the prosperity of the town.

With road improvements in the 1940s, King Street became the major thoroughfare of both Routes 3 going north and Route 4 going west. Several motels and lodging establishments emerged, catering to motorists.

A petitioned warrant article in 1997 proposed the creation of a local historic district to assist and manage unsympathetic changes to the core of King Street. The article passed and a commission was formed, to work with the Regional Planning Commission to create ordinances and the boundaries to protect the character of the town. Several years after, petitioned warrant articles sought to abolish the newly formed commission.

In 1999 those attempts succeeded, and the commission disbanded. In its place, the planning board adopted a village district ordinance. This overlay zone states that historic buildings should be preserved and adaptively reused, but the directive is last of eight and its enforcement has small teeth. Demolition of historic buildings continues and the opening of a Dollar General in the village in 2019 caused further concern.

Today, the development pressure continues as traffic counts exceed 12,500 cars per day.

The town has asked the Department of Transportation to study improvements to the streetscape and multi-modal use of King Street, which is scheduled for 2026. Part of that work will be surveying the village for eligibility for listing to the National Register of Historic Places. Surprisingly, despite many buildings being listed individually, the entire village has never been studied for its architectural significance.

Several towns face Boscawen’s challenge: balancing retention of historic resources that provide character and identity to a community, while providing flexibility for modern needs and services. The Preservation Alliance hopes to work with local advocates and town leaders to implement proven strategies that protect this significant village.

If no action is taken, advocates worry it’s checkmate for King Street.

Stay up to date on this program, including when submissions open for next year’s list, and browse listees from past years (we’ve been highlighting endangered properties since 2006!) by visting the Seven to Save homepage.

Are you part of a group involved with one of our previous listees? We’d love to hear how you’re doing! Call us at (603) 224-2281 or email seventosave@nhpreservation.org.