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JOURNEY BACK INTO TIME as historian and author Matthew E. Thomas records the detailed history of all 73 known surviving Town Pounds of New Hampshire. Pounds were essential community landmarks used to restrain escaped farm/city livestock so they couldn't trample upon, and destroy private vegetable gardens, orchards, and sprawling fields of corn, pumpkins, wheat, rye and hay.
An estimated 750 communities scattered throughout the six New England states formerly had Pounds, of which approximately 170 have survived into the 21st century. New Hampshire has the largest number of existing town pounds of all six New England states.
Explore a list of the known Town Pounds in other New England states, listing towns & cities with Pounds, date of construction, and known addresses. Learn about the forgotten origin, use, customs, and purpose of historic Pounds built throughout New England between the years 1635 until the late 1800's.
Sympathize with elected Town Pound-keepers who had the difficult task of capturing, feeding and caring for numerous livestock that until captured, could wreck devastating havoc upon countless gardens and crops.
Adequate winter food storage often spelled the difference between life and death for many struggling families dependent upon whatever food they could grow in summer to survive the cold winter months. Thus, they did not appreciate roaming livestock destroying their crops. This is why Pounds were a vital necessity in countless towns and cities throughout New England.
Welcome to the past...and ENJOY this truly fascinating journey into an often little-known, and nearly forgotten aspect of early New England life.
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Matthew E. Thomas is a lifelong historian who studied architecture, archaeology, and early American history at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has researched, written, and published sixteen history titles, and numerous articles on various aspects of early American history. He lectures extensively on a wide variety of historical topics throughout the northeast; taught continuing education history courses at the University of New Hampshire; and is a frequent consultant to historians, genealogists, museums, film producers, businesses, libraries, and historical societies. He has contributed to numerous published works relating to various aspects of American history. He lives in southern New Hampshire.
