On November 12, 1954, a group of Atkinson residents met at the Atkinson Congregational Church and formed the Atkinson Historical Society (AHS).  The following month, AHS’s first officers were elected: Mabel Mason, president; Ruth Sawyer, secretary; Harry Tuttle, treasurer; Beatrice Reynolds, curator; and Louise Barnum, historian.

During the past 70 years, the Atkinson Historical Society has been preserving Atkinson history by protecting landmarks and spearheading restoration projects, such as the Town Pound and the Hearse House in the Old Cemetery. Additionally, AHS has honored Atkinson’s soldiers of all wars in myriad ways, including fundraising for the town’s WWII and Vietnam honor rolls and erecting street signs (Maurice Avenue and Leroy Avenue) memorializing Maurice Givens and Leroy G. Rivers who died in WWI. Similarly, signage on the triangle of land at the intersection of Academy and Maple avenues honors the Rockwell brothers, Leslie and Richard, who gave their lives for their country during World War II.  

AHS has also ensured the preservation of the town’s rich past in Atkinson Then & Now, an in-depth recounting of Atkinson history, now in its second edition. Atkinson native, historian, and AHS member, Louise Noyes Barnum, wrote the first edition, published in 1975. The Society published a second edition in 1994.

No organization can be successful without the participation of its members. AHS is fortunate that its membership, comprised of Atkinson residents and those from neighboring communities, has supported the Society’s goals and objectives. The current priority of AHS is the restoration of the Center School, Atkinson’s last standing one-room schoolhouse, built in 1879. The Society is off to a strong start, having raised over $100,000 via fundraising and grants, with restoration and fundraising ongoing simultaneously.

Long-term goals for AHS include the restoration and updating of its home base, the Kimball House Museum, dating back to 1772, when its original owner, Reverend Stephen Peabody, acquired the land. The house still contains gunstock beams, several Christian doors, and pegged, hand-hewn timbers in the double-thick granite and brick cellar. Remaining a private residence until 1907, the house was then deeded by its owner, Reverend Joseph Kimball, to the town for use as a library. In 1958, the Kimball Library afforded one of its first-floor rooms to the Atkinson Historical Society. While a library annex was built in 1975, the children’s library remained in the house until the new Kimball Library was built next door in 2008. Since that time, the Society has occupied the entire house, ever-expanding its collection of historic documents and artifacts, precious to the legacy of Atkinson.  Yet another long-term goal of the Society is to publish a third edition of Atkinson Then & Now in tandem with the Society’s 75th anniversary coming up in 2029.

While AHS has always focused on preserving Atkinson’s history, the Society has also wholeheartedly participated in community outreach, engaging in town-wide events. Recent examples are AHS’s participation in Memorial Day, Atkinson Day, the Atkinson Women’s Civic Club Fair, Veterans Day, and December’s annual Christmas Tree lighting. Moreover, every May, AHS opens its doors to Atkinson Academy’s second graders so that the children can experience the museum first-hand. And, with its eye on the future, AHS awards an annual scholarship to a graduating senior residing in Atkinson.

The Kimball House Museum is open to the public every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and on the first Saturday of the month, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The Atkinson Historical Society welcomes new members. Annual membership is $25.00. For more information, please email us at atkinson.nh.history@gmail.com.

(Article written for the November 10, 2024, anniversary celebration held at the Kimball House Museum.)