Anniversary of independence is focus of Meredith program series

MEREDITH ― Numerous programs related to the 250th birthday of American independence will highlight the 2026 Speaker Series of the Meredith Historical Society, as well as other programs presented in collaboration with the Meredith Public Library.

Presented on the first Tuesday of each month from April through November, the society’s regular series this year also features programs ranging from the history of Lake Winnipesaukee ice-out to the story of a local minister’s son who became a Russian count to the history of Meredith Village’s mills.

“Our program offerings over the past several years have become increasingly popular and well attended,” said Meredith Historical Society President John Hopper. “This year, in addition to including home-grown programs and offerings by NH Humanities, we have partnered with our local library to add even more offerings. Several will focus on issues of local and Lakes Region history. Other programs this year tie in with our nationwide observance of the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.”

Kicking off the society’s regular speaker series on Tuesday, April 7, will be “The Russian Count” presented by Jewel Fox, a member of the Laconia Historical Society. She will relate the tale of Peter Williams, the son of Meredith’s first settled minister, who ended up being a nobleman in the court of Russia’s Czar Alexander I.

May’s program on May 5 will feature a talk on “The History of Winnipesaukee Ice-Out.” Appropriately, it will be presented by Dave Emerson of Emerson Aviation, whose firm has for years flown flights over the lake to determine date and time of ice-out each spring.

John Hopper will present a talk Aug. 4 on “Meredith Village Mill History,” tracking the many operations surrounding the Waukewan stream waterfall over the years. A new book by Hopper on the same topic is currently being prepared for publication, and the society is in hopes it will be available at this program.

Oct. 6 will feature a talk titled “New Hampshire Marine Patrol on Winnipesaukee — Past to Present.” Presenter will be Capt. Timothy Dunleavy (Ret.), program specialist with the New Hampshire Marine Patrol, who will inform listeners of the various challenges faced by the department over the years.

September's meeting, slated for Tuesday, Sept. 2, has become a tradition and will feature the Meredith Historical Society’s annual open house at its 45 Main Street Museum location. Members of the board of directors will serve up free hot dogs and ice cream, as well as offer tours of the museum. 

In addition to these programs, the society and the Meredith Public Library are combining resources to present a package of programs related to the 250th celebration of the United States as a country, grouped into the theme “Plant a Seed of Democracy.”

Kicking off the list is a program on Thursday, April 9, at the library at 6:30 p.m., Michael Geanoulis will talk on the “Shot Not Heard ’Round the World,” highlighting the historically significant events that took place at Portsmouth’s Fort William and Mary in December 1774.

Next up will be a program on Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m., at the library titled “Celebrating America’s Independence with … Beethoven?” Rudy VanVeghten, a member of the Historical Society’s board of directors, will discuss how the same Enlightenment philosophy that inspired the Declaration of Independence also influenced the music of Beethoven.

“Unpacking the Declaration of Independence: What It Meant Then and Now” a New Hampshire Humanities Program, will take place at the library Thursday, May 21, at 6 p.m. Former New Hampshire Teacher of the Year David Alcox of Milford will be the presenter. Also co-sponsoring the program are the Friends of the Meredith Public Library.

Another NH Humanities Program comes next on Tuesday, June 2, at 7 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center. Historian George Morrison will present a talk titled “Who Was John Stark” about New Hampshire’s famous Revolutionary War hero.

On Thursday, June 4, at 6 p.m., Jane Oneail will present “American Art at 250: Masterworks of a Nation” at the library. This program, cosponsored by the Friends of the Meredith Public Library, showcases the diverse voices and revolutionary spirits that have shaped American art across two and a half centuries.

Two costumed historical reenactors will entertain program-goers with portrayals of Ben Franklin, by J.T. Turner, on Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m., and of five Revolutionary-era women, by Rita Parisi, on Thursday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the library.

VanVeghten will continue his Meredith Historical Society series on local participation in the American Revolution with a program Tuesday, July 7, at 7 p.m. at the Community Center. Titled “Let Freedom Ring? or The Times that Try Men’s Souls?,” it will focus on various optimistic and pessimistic emotions that evolved during 1776.

Also from the catalog of NH Humanities programs will be “Redcoats and Rebels: New Hampshire and the American Revolution,” presented by Mary Adams of the New Hampshire Historical Society. She will talk about Paul Revere’s lesser-known ride to Portsmouth in December 1774. Program time on Thursday, July 9, is 6 p.m. at the library.

Closing out the country’s semiquincentennial celebration locally will be a final NH Humanities program on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at the Community Center. Alan Hoffman will talk on “Lafayette and the Farewell Tour: Odyssey of an American Idol.”

For more information, visit meredithhistoricalsocietynh.org.