News from the Manchester Historic Association

Collect, Preserve, Share

Manchester

January 26, 2021

In This Issue

1. New Exhibit Coming Soon...

2. New to the Collection

3. Announcing a New Digital Resource

4. Exhibit Video: Manchester's Urban Ponds

5. 2020-2021 Annual Appeal Campaign

New Exhibit Coming Soon...

Pandora by Design: Sweaters from the Millyard

In 1940 Pandora Industries relocated to Manchester from New York City, and for the next several decades became one of the major employers of the Queen City with as many as 1,000 people working for the company. Pandora maintained itself as a major sweater and sportswear maker, making as many as 60,000 sweaters per week, and was one of the last textile manufacturers to operate in Manchester's Millyard.

The newest exhibit at the Millyard Museum will showcase a recently acquired collection of Pandora sweaters and designs as well as part of the iconic sign that stood atop the Pandora Mill building for approximately 50 years.

Coming March 1 - more details coming soon!

New to the Collection

"The Council of War", a sculpture by John Rogers, has recently been acquired by the Manchester Historic Association through an anonymous gift and is now on display at the Millyard Museum.

John Rogers (1829-1904) was a well-known sculptor whose "groups" were popular in the late 19th century. He worked as a mechanic in the machine shop of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company from 1851 to 1858 and while in Manchester began modeling with clay that he found near the Merrimack River in Hooksett.

This particular group depicts President Abraham Lincoln, General Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Lincoln is seated, examining plans proposed by Grant for what would become the Overland Campaign of 1864 during the U.S. Civil War.

This was one of Rogers’ most popular pieces, receiving widespread praise for his depiction of Lincoln. Secretary Stanton wrote to Rogers that, “In form and feature, it surpasses any effort to embody the expression of that great man which I have seen”. Later, Robert Todd Lincoln wrote that “his family has always regarded John Rogers’ group The Council of War as the most lifelike portrait of his father in sculpture”.

Rogers used the likeness of his seated Lincoln again years later in the statue of Lincoln that now sits outside Manchester's Central High School.

The MHA is planning a special exhibit on John Rogers' works, and specifically his connections to Manchester, in early 2022. Stay tuned!

Announcing a New Digital Resource

Goodwin Funeral Home Records

The Manchester Historic Association is pleased to announce the beginning of a finding aid for funeral records of the Goodwin Funeral Home.

A few years ago, the Goodwin Funeral Home donated their death return records to the Manchester Historic Association. These documents record information about individuals whose funerals were managed by the Goodwin Funeral Home, spanning the years 1874 to 1969. Information includes date and place of death, residence at time of death, cause of death, occupation, names of parents, and place of internment.

This valuable resource has been digitized by the Northeast Document Conservation Center through a generous anonymous gift to the MHA. Since that time, MHA volunteers have been developing a finding aid, organized alphabetical by last name, but which can also be searched by first name and, when applicable, maiden name. A finding aid for all death returns from 1951 to 1965 has been completed and can now be accessed from our website by clicking here.

Please be aware that this continues to be a work in progress and the finding aid will be expanded as more years are completed. If you have any questions or would like a digital copy of a specific death return listed in the finding aid, please email library@manchesterhistoric.org.

Exhibit Video: Manchester's Urban Ponds

The special exhibit "Manchester's Urban Ponds: Past, Present, and Future" at the Millyard Museum closed on December 5, but you still have a chance to see a video of the exhibit, featuring a guided tour with our curators!

Click here to watch!

Although ponds may not be the first thing one thinks about in Manchester, the Queen City has several ponds that have played an important role in the area’s history. More recently, the Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program, established in 2000, has led cleanup efforts to help return the city’s ponds to their historic uses. This exhibit looks at the history of several of Manchester’s urban ponds, including Crystal Lake, Dorrs Pond, Maxwell Pond, Nutts Pond, Pine Island Pond, and Stevens Pond and celebrates the accomplishments of the Urban Ponds Restoration Program over the last 20 years.

Sponsored by City of Manchester, Department of Public Works, Environmental Protection Division

2020-2021 Annual Appeal Campaign

Thank you to all of our members, friends, and supporters who have contributed to our Annual Appeal campaign. Thanks to your generosity, we are only $1,500 away from our goal of $35,000!

If you have not yet had a chance to contribute, please consider a gift to the MHA's Heritage Fund through our Annual Appeal.

Your support makes it possible for the MHA to operate the Millyard Museum and Research Center, provide educational programs to school groups in Manchester and beyond (including virtual programs), continue to offer fresh new exhibits, maintain the Association's important collection of artifacts and documents pertaining to Manchester's history, and provided needed maintenance to our historic Amherst Street building.

2021 marks the 125th Anniversary of the Manchester Historic Association. Your support will make it possible for us to continue to tell Manchester's story for the next 125 years!

Please click here or mail your gift to the Manchester Historic Association Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford Street, Manchester, NH 03101.

The Manchester Historic Association is an independent tax-exempt charitable 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization with the mission to collect, preserve and share the history of Manchester, New Hampshire USA. The Association operates the Millyard Museum and Research Center.