Historic Homes and Sites

Built in 1762, this museum is now furnished as a tavern and residence from that period. Historically, the first meeting of the Dartmouth College Trustees took place on the site in the 18th century.
Hours: May-Labor Day, Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and by appointment.
Admission: $3 per person.
Information: www.hsccnh.org/wymantavern/

Built in 1804, this mansion was the childhood home of Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.
Season: Season opens Memorial Day weekend; June, Saturdays and Sundays; July and August, Fridays-Tuesdays through Labor Day; September to October 27, Saturdays and Sundays; closed November through Memorial Day.
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $4.
Information: hillsboroughhistory.org

Melville Academy has an excellent collection of Hannah Davis Bandboxes, scrapbooks documenting VIS activities, 19th century kitchen and agricultural tools, samplers made by local residents in the early 19th century, the old mailboxes of the Jaffrey Center Post Office (which closed in 1991), and other artifacts relating to life in 19th century Jaffrey Center. The upstairs has been maintained as a schoolroom, with information on Melville Academy.
Hours: July-August, Saturday-Sunday, 2-4 p.m. and by special request
Admission: Free.
Information: www.jcvis.org/museum/museum.php

Built in 1806, Horatio Colony decorated his home with outstanding collections of furniture, artwork, books and silver. Admission is free. Nature Preserve, located on Daniel’s Hill Road, is three and one half miles of well-marked trails with numbered stops that point out dramatic geological features, historical ruins, and plant communities are located across the preserve.
Hours: Museum tours offered May 1-October 15, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 pm.; winter hours by appointment.
Admission: Free.
Information: www.horatiocolonymuseum.org/

This museum focuses on local history. Of particular interest are the early American kitchen display, the country store and the 19th-century mill worker's home.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $3, children under 12, free.
Information: www.peterboroughhistory.org.

The last authentic, water-powered measure mill remaining in the United States, listed on the national Register of Historic Places. Some of the Mill's first products - including round and oval pantry boxes, measures, and piggins - are still being produced on much of the original machinery. Company produces and sells Shaker boxes. A 7-room shop sells high-quality crafts, folk art, hand-blown glass, pottery, pewter, hand-forged ironware, antiques and collectibles. Mill tours are held June through October, Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Open: April-December.
Information: www.fryesmeasuremill.com

This beautiful and peaceful mountain site was built to honor Americans who lost their lives in the military service during World War II. The central altar, called the Altar of the Nation, contains stones for all states; and from Plymouth, England; Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts; the battlefields of Lexington, Concord, and Yorktown; the Parthenon in Athens; the ancient Colosseum in Rome; and the battlefields of WWI and WWII. The cathedral is situated on a hilltop with a panoramic view of the Grand Monadnock.