TAMWORTH

A short history of Tamworth

Granted in 1766 by colonial Governor Benning Wentworth, this town was named in honor of his close friend, British Vice-Admiral Washington Shirley, Viscount Tamworth. The admiral's daughter, Selina Shirley, was instrumental in the founding of Dartmouth College. The village of Whittier, like Mount Whittier in Ossipee, is named for the poet John Greenleaf Whittier.

Arthur Treadwell Walden's Chinook Kennels raised sled dogs for Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's Antarctic expeditions and the Army's search-and-rescue units. The Barnstormers Theatre group was established here in 1931 by Francis Cleveland, son of President Grover Cleveland. He supported the theater until his death in 1995. The group is hailed as the oldest continuously running professional summer theater in the country.

At the turn of the 20th century, many people traveled to the White Mountains of New Hampshire seeking haven from the noise of the cities and the business of urban life. Thinkers, artists and writers such as William and Henry James, E.E. Cummings, friends and descendants of Julia Ward Howe and many others vacationed in the Tamworth area. Inns and resorts, such as the Wonalancet Inn owned by Katherine Sleeper Walden, helped to encourage tourism and vacationing in the Tamworth area.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Tamworth, New Hampshire, revision 1379264253 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.