Tyngsborough
Historical Commission
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around town

Take a self-guided tour of the historic sites around town!  With settlement beginning in the mid 1600s, there is plenty to see and explore right in your own backyard! 
(feature coming soon!)

Click for interactive map
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The First Parish Meeting House.
     The First Parish Meeting House was erected in 1836, to replace an earlier meeting house built in 1755.  When the state line was drawn in 1740, it left our only meeting house in the state of New Hampshire, and so a new site was chosen for the 1755 building.  At a July 4 meeting in 1834  it was decided that the current meeting house was in such a state of decay, that a new meeting house should be erected, with funds collected by the sale of each pew in the amount of $25.00.  Our records show that planned expenses of the building project totaled two thousand five hundred dollars, although we do not have information on the final costs.  At a July 1836 meeting it was decided to buy a new bell for their church, which would become the Paul Revere Bell still currently hung in the belfry.  (It should be noted that the REVERE BOSTON stamp embossed on the bell was also used by the Revere Copper Company which incorporated Revere & Son in 1828.)
     The grand exterior columns of this large church were copied from the meeting house in Groton, and are currently undergoing restoration.  The beautiful yet simple interior of the church with its closed pews, a raised dais for church elders, a high pulpit, and balcony, hark back to a time when religion was far more serious than it would appear today.  


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The Tyng Mansion. 
     The Tyng Mansion, built before 1675 by Colonel Jonathan Tyng, sat along the western banks of the Merrimack River.  It was a gambrel roofed home, interlined with brick, having port holes beneath the eaves as it was used as a garrison throughout the Indian Wars.  While many early settlers of the area fled to Boston throughout the tumultuous wars, several men from Capt. Moseley's Command were garrisoned at Colonel Tyng's house until the settlers returned to their homes in 1677. 
     Sadly, the Tyng Mansion was lost to our town due to arson in 1977, and all that remains are the granite slabs of the foundation. 

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The Adams Barn. 
     The Adams Barn, thought to once have been an early grist mill, has been used for grain storage and the like, for the stores that once stood on both sides of Middlesex Road.  The post and beam balloon framing is easily viewed from the interior, as well as the different woods used for lumber.  Built circa 1840, the barn was typically used to store grain, which came to town on the railroad beginning in 1841.  Here the grain was held until local farmers came to collect it. 
     Sitting on the edge of Bridge Meadow Mill Pond, now known as Flint's Pond, it once had a cupola with a formed horse weather vane, which is currently being held in the collections of the Tyngsborough-Dunstable Historical Society.  A hanging barn door rolled open on cast iron wheels and track below a long glass transom window, which are all still intact.  The cupola and weather vane are waiting to be donated should the barn be restored to its former glory. 
     Sadly, at Town Meeting on May 16, 2017 the Town voted to demolish the historic building for $30,000 rather than appropriate the $450,000 to restore it.  

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The Littlefield Library.
     The Littlefield Library was begun when Lucy Swan Littlefield bequeathed five thousand dollars for the town of Tyngsborough to build a library.  With additional funds from the town, the Littlefield Library was erected in 1905.  Built of Boston-faced brick and laid in Flemish bond, the building was once voted the "coziest library in the state," capable of holding 20,000 volumes. 
     Many of our long time residents fondly remember walking once a week from the Winslow School to the neighboring Littlefield Library, to check out a book or to sit and enjoy story time among the large collection of stuffed species.  As the town grew, the library moved into the new Town Hall building.  Today, the Littlefield Library is used by the Historical Commission to store and exhibit historical items and records. 

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The Winslow School. 
     The Winslow School was first begun in 1792 with a grant from Madam Sarah Tyng Winslow given to the town in 1789 for the betterment of the schools.  This original building has since been moved to Dunstable and is today known as "The Little Red School House" located on Kendall Rd.  
     The Winslow School building that now sits atop the hill in Tyngsborough Town Center was first built in 1892 to make room for the growing number of children within our town. The first session in the new school house took place on October 11, 1892 with only two very large rooms to house the students.   By 1915 the school was remodeled and four rooms were added to the back, and again in 1947.  
     Today, many generations of Tyngsborough families remember their days attending the Winslow School.  For over 100 years many fond memories were made within her halls while school was in session from 1892 until 2002.  

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The Tyngsborough Bridge.
     Prior to the age of the automobile and long before such a bridge existed, residents would cross the Merrimack by ferry for a small fee.  In 1874 a wooden plank bridge was built, with iron tresses added in 1893, which put an end to the days of the ferry.  Residents could now cross the river free of charge, and as often as they'd like.  In 1932, the big green bridge that we all know and love today was constructed, with it's gorgeous arch becoming the unofficial emblem of our town. 

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Wannalancit Rock. 
     Wannalancit (Wonalancet) was the sachem of the Penacook Indians, and son of the sachem, Passaconoway.  In keeping with the legacy of his father, Wannalancit continued the friendly relationship with the English settlers.   Befriending Colonel Jonathan Tyng, Wannalancit aided in the effort to protect present day Tyngsborough throughout King Philips War, and even stayed with the Colonel in the Tyng Mansion throughout the last few years of his life.  
     In 1901 the rock on Tyng Road was dedicated in honor of Wannalancit.  It was here, on the grounds of the Tyng Mansion, that Wannalancit spent much of his time.  The inscription on the plaque reads: "In this place, lived during his last years, and died in 1696, Wannalancet last sachem of the Merrimack River Indians, son of Passaconaway.  Like his father, a faithful friend of the early New England colonists."

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