The Canterbury Historical Society’s mission is to preserve Canterbury’s heritage and sense of community.
All residents of Canterbury are automatically members of the Canterbury Historical Society.
There are many ways in which you may become involved. We are in need of docents for our shows and exhibits; individuals to help us digitize and organize our Archive Collection; folks who would like to help in building our oral and visual archive of Canterbury residents; assistants in our One Room Schoolhouse project (the only one of its kind in the nation); anyone who would enjoy assisting in the many and various administrative duties required to fulfill our mission; become a member of our Board of Directors, or help on special projects. You would be most welcome and you will have a rewarding and enriching experience!…and it is a lot of fun!
The Society is committed to bringing the history of our Town to young people, which is why we are so involved with our Canterbury school children.
How Should You Contact Us?
To get in touch, email us at canterbury.nh.historical.society@gmail.com or visit our website at canterburyhistory.org.
Archives
The Archives rooms of the Canterbury Historical Society include both a climate controlled storage area and a comfortable work room which is open to researchers of all ages by appointment.
The extensive collections of Canterbury related materials include collections of family papers, diaries, scrapbooks and business ledgers, 19th & 20th century Town records, photographs, glass & flexible negatives, records of local organizations and churches, cemetery records, early and modern school materials, tape recorded interviews with local people, a newspaper clippings file, school & other books, and materials on a variety of other subjects.
Anyone wishing to do research in the collections should send an email to make an appointment.
Programs & Projects
Archives: The Society’s archives contain a great diversity of historically valuable town-owned manuscripts and photographic collections reflecting Canterbury history from the early 18th century to the present. These include the Luther Cody glass negative collection of over 640 images taken at the turn of the century; information about town organizations;town government and associated records; deeds and a wide variety of other materials. These collections are available to researchers by appointment.
Projects and Activities: The work of the Society is done entirely by member volunteers and friends. New helpers are always welcome. In addition to the maintenance of the collections, we are currently working on the following projects:
Archives: Continuation of digitizing inventory and numbering of the collections.
Elkins Memorial Building: The site of the former library and home to shows, exhibits and workshops mounted or conducted by the Society.
Hosting Programs of Historical Interest: Each year the Society presents several programs through the assistance of the N.H. Humanities Council, intended to broaden understanding of the importance of history and by-gone events and their influence on our daily lives.
Oral & Visual History Project: Tape & video recording of the reminiscences of older residents. and placed in our Archive Collection.
Newspaper Clipping File: Ongoing project of clipping local news and compiling a research file.
Cemetery Recording Project: Recording information from local cemeteries and their gravestones and organizing the information for researchers.
One Room School House Project: Carried out through the help and support of our elementary teachers and administration, the program involves all the children at our elementary school in experiencing what education was like in former times by replicating the atmosphere and conditions of a one room school house (20 to 25 students from five different grades in one room). We understand this is the only program of its kind in the nation.
The program has won two (2) national awards for excellence.
Mapping of Historical Sites: In cooperation with Canterbury Elementary School.
| Officers and Board Members | Position |
| Ron Routhier | President |
| Jeff Leidinger | Vice-President |
| Sandy Scripture | Corresponding Secretary |
| Fred Brewster | Recording Secretary |
| Mary Ann Winograd | Treasurer |
| Sam Papps | Archivist |
| Anne Emerson | |
| Chuck Sanborn | |
| Harry Kinter | |
| Pam Jackson | |
| Mary Kerwin |
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