| The History of Tilton In 1850, approximately 100 years after the town of Sanbornton was settled, a group of citizens petitioned to form a new town. Voted on at a special town meeting in 1869, and approved by the voters and the governor of N.H., the town of Tilton was formed. It was named in honor of its most famous, wealthiest, and unsparingly generous citizen, Charles E. Tilton. Though the town was incorporated in 1869, it was a thriving village for many years before that. A map of 1814 shows that Tilton, then known as Sanbornton Bridge, boasted a hotel, nearly twenty homes, three stores, a doctor, a lawyer, and a dozen small mills and craftsmen’s shops. History abounds in Tilton; the Tilton Riverfront Park (TRP) is only one of many historic sites to see when visiting. The TRP is one stop on an historic tour of architecture and artwork that takes visitors through the downtown Tilton, ending at Island Park. Included on the National Register of Historic Places, downtown Tilton showcases fine examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture, including ornate commercial Victorian buildings, a gothic revival church, a Victorian hardware store, and nineteenth century statuary. Island Park, in the Winnipesaukee River at the east end of downtown, was created by Charles Tilton in 1865 and was once home to a Victorian summerhouse and many pieces of nineteenth century statuary. The cast iron footbridge that was erected in 1881 still remains, and is a fine example of a now rarely used Truesdell truss. A brochure is available at Tilton Town Hall that contains more information about the many other sites on the Tilton and Northfield Historic Walking Tour. The Winnipesaukee River In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the power of the Winnipesaukee River was harnessed to operate mills up and down its banks. These banks were home to several gristmills, woolen mills, and other textile mills. Many dams existed in this stretch of the river that runs through Tilton, Northfield, and into Franklin. Several grinding stones can still be found in the river today. The mills prospered into the 1900s, but eventually fell into disrepair and the dams that were built to power the mills gave way to nature. The heavy use of the river in the industrial age took its toll on the river, in Tilton and in surrounding communities. By the 1960s, construction debris and wastewater were more prevalent in the river than greenery and clear water. In 1972, the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program was created to control water pollution in the Lakes Region, including the Winnipesaukee River. The result of this act is that there is no longer any known municipal wastewater discharged along the entire length of the Winnipesaukee River. In the early 1990s, the fate of the river as a recreational asset to the community came under fire. A hydroelectric developer submitted plans to build a dam and diversion pipe near the site of this park. This project would have diverted water from this section of the river, making it impossible for river enthusiasts to use during most of the spring. Local paddling groups organized river clean-up days and a New Year’s Day Kayak Event. This increase in public awareness caught the attention of local and national press and helped communities fight to protect and preserve the river and its shores as important natural resources. Tilton Main Street Program, phone: 603-286-8668, email: info@tiltonmainstreet.org |