Pelham restores 1833 map of Great Mammoth Road

Cate McCusker, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·1 min read

Jul. 5—PELHAM — A recently restored early 19th century map of Great Mammoth Road will now be displayed at Town Hall.

In 1833, BF Varnum of Dracut drew the map depicting the main travel routes from Lowell to Hooksett. In 2016, the map was discovered in the town clerk's vault.

It was then restored by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts, thanks to a grant from the New Hampshire State Library N.H. Moose Conservation License Plate Program.

Two facsimiles were created for matting and framing, and the map is to be displayed at Pelham Town Hall and the Pelham Historical Society building.

At the bottom of the manuscript, in a final statement by Varnum, he describes the map.

"Plan of the roads from Central Street in Lowell over the Patucket Bridge through Pelham and by the Great Mammoth Road to Hooksett and from said Central Street by Dracutt + Pelham Meeting Houses to Derry Village and by the Turnpike to Hooksett, to the intersection of the other road ... " he wrote.

According to the Town of Pelham website, roads were controlled by individuals and their communities during this time period. The cooperation between communities was important for the success of routes, and the final statement on the map alludes to the competition between communities along present day Route 128 — Great Mammoth Road — and Route 38/Bridge Street — the Londonderry Turnpike).

The map may be viewed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and any time the building is open to the public.