Hannah Duston statue no longer threatened by removal

The statue of Hannah Duston in Boscawen won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

David Nagel, the Gilmanton Republican who filed a bill calling for the removal of the long-standing statue, drafted an amendment that completely overrides the original bill’s language and proposes an advisory council to create an interpretive site instead.

Duston, a colonial woman from Haverhill, Mass., was kidnapped in 1697 by indigenous Abenaki people and killed an entire Native American family to escape. She’s depicted holding the scalps of her captors in the statue, which was erected in 1874 at the site of her escape.

Her story gained renewed prominence in the 1820s when colonists expanded westward as part of the country’s pursuit of its Manifest Destiny. Biographies, magazines, and children’s books were written and even a mountain was dedicated to her. Another statue in her hometown Haverhill was put up in 1902.

Last month, Nagel, Boscawen town officials and history experts met to make suggestions on how to move forward with the site. On Jan. 21, the bill had a hearing at the Statehouse, which solidified Nagel’s stance on the issue — he still wants the statue gone.

“I signed on to this project to stand up for the rights of people that were being run by other people,” Nagel said. “This monument is a disgrace. You just can’t support something like anymore.”

He said he noticed someone made a racial comment toward the end of the session and, while the House Resources, Recreation and Development Committee is considering the amended language, Nagel still feels the monument is divisive and no longer historically relevant.

In 2021, the Hannah Duston Advisory Committee was formed to contextualize the statue’s site through Native American perspectives. It disbanded before the year was over due to funding issues. Nagel said in the bill hearing that the new advisory council already has a grant lined up and will hopefully not cost the state anything.

Boscawen select board member Lorrie Carey said that while the hearing was a “win” for the statue, she would rather see a private group of people work on the site rather than a state-appointed council. But she supported the amendment.

“I see it as a real opportunity,” Carey said. “I see it as really bringing a lot of vibrancy to Commercial Street as we look to redevelop it.”

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Carey listed a number of things that were done to improve the site over the years, such as connecting it with the rail trail and having regular maintenance performed. She said she looks forward to bringing the historical context piece to it.

“I’m not interested in more meetings,” Carey said. “I’m interested in rolling up my sleeves and getting things accomplished.”

In her testimony, Denise Pouliot, head female speaker of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, said that the Native people “hate the statue,” but still recognize the historical importance the marker brings to the region.

“If we start erasing these pieces of history, we’re going to start erasing not just pieces of New Hampshire history but also pieces of Western history as well,” she said.

Nagel said that he doesn’t think the statue will ever be removed, but hopes that people become more aware of local history and connect with others of different backgrounds, just as he has.

“I don’t personally think this is the right time to get rid of that memorial,” he said. “But I think it was important that somebody raised the issue and I’m hoping in 50 years, they’ll look at it like I looked at it with my old bell bottoms, and we’ll just realize it’s not historically important.”

Jeremy Margolis contributed to this report. 

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