Forgotten and historic town pounds of New Hampshire: used for confining stray livestock in New England towns and cities/ by Matthew E. Thomas.

Title:

Forgotten and historic town pounds of New Hampshire: used for confining stray livestock in New England towns and cities/ by Matthew E. Thomas.

Author:

Thomas, Matthew E.

Call Number:

352.5 T454

Publication Information:

Charleston, SC: Palmetto Publishing 1904.

Physical Description:

123 p.; 28 cm.

Description:

Journey back into time as historian and author Matthew E. Thomas records the detailed history of all 73 known surviving Town Pounds of New Hampshire. Pounds were essential community landmarks used to restrain escaped farm/city livestock so they couldn't trample upon, and destroy private vegetable gardens, orchards, and sprawling fields of corn, pumpkins, wheat, rye, and hay. An estimated 750 communities scattered throughout the six New England States formerly had Pounds, of which approximately 170 have survived into the 21st century. New Hampshire has the largst number of existing town pounds of all six New England states. Explore a list of the known Town Pounds in other New England states, listing towns & cities with Pounds, date of construction, and known addresses.Learn about the forgotten origin, use, customs, and purpose of historic Pounds built throughout New England between the years 1635 untill the late 1800's. Sympathize with elected Town Pound-keeprs who had the difficult task of capturing, feeding and caring for numerous livestock that until captured, could wreck devastating havoc upon countless gardens and crops.Adequate winter food storage often spelled the difference between life and death for many struggling families dependent upon whatever food they could grow in the summer to survive the cold winter months. Thus, they did not appreciate roaming livestock destroying their crops. This is why Pounds were a vital necessity in countless towns and cities throughout New England.

Subjects:

Domestic animals Control. , Law Enforcement. , Animal pounds.

Terms of Use:

For permission to reproduce or publish material from this item, please contact the New Hampshire Historical Society. Users are responsible for following all copyright and intellectual property laws.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase; December 5, 2023;