Inspired by children's book, Dublin students lead historic highway marker project

Ryan Spencer, The Keene Sentinel, N.H.
·2 min read

Jun. 10—Dublin 1st- and 2nd-graders spearheaded a project to install a historic highway marker recounting the story of a little girl who inspired multiple children's books, state officials announced this week.

Dublin Christian Academy students in Holly Christensen's class read the book "Sarah Whitcher's Story" by New Hampshire author Elizabeth Yates, according to a news release Wednesday from the N.H. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The students then gathered the 20 signatures needed to propose the highway marker at the intersection of N.H. Route 25 and Swain Hill Road in Warren.

The Dublin students were there when the marker, which is the 275th in the N.H. Historical Highway Marker Program, was unveiled June 3.

The marker recounts the story of "Sarah Whitcher and the Bear."

In June 1783, when she was three, Sarah became lost in the woods while gathering flowers. After a four-day search, her footprints were found near Berry Brook alongside bear prints, according to the tale recounted on the marker.

As the story goes, the girl was found after a local man, who had dreamed three times that Sarah would be found near the brook and guarded by a bear, joined the search.

"The lore of this little girl saved by a bear has entertained generations of people and inspired several children's books," the marker states.

Any entity or person wishing to propose a historic highway marker to commemorate significant places, persons or events in New Hampshire must submit a petition signed by at least 20 residents and draft the text of the marker with footnotes and documentation, according to the natural and cultural resources department.

"New Hampshire's historical highway markers illustrate the depth and complexity of our history and the people who made it," the release states, "from the last Revolutionary War soldier to contemporary sports figures to poets and painters who used New Hampshire for inspiration."

An interactive map of all of the state's historical highway markers is available at the N.H. Division of Historical Resources' website, nh.gov/nhdhr.

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or rspencer@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @rspencerKS