History in towns: Hancock, New Hampshire

Magazine Antiques, Sept, 2002 by William Nathaniel Banks

The trim brick vestry east of the meeting-house, built in 1836 by the Congregational Society, reflects the transition from the Federal to the Greek revival style (Pl. IX). Although the building is essentially Federal, there are Greek revival frets decorating the corner blocks of the frames of the two entrance doors and the corners of the two-stage belfry.

This timid approach to the Greek style typifies Hancock's allegiance to earlier forms, and in fact, the revival styles of the late nineteenth century had little impact on the town's architecture. An exception is the imposing farmhouse built by Ebenezer Ware in 1868 (Pl. XI). One of the most prominent men in the town, Ware was a member of the school committee, the board of selectmen, and the state legislature. He died on the farm where he was born, leaving a library of twelve hundred volumes. The large three-story house he built embodies features of the Second Empire and the Italianate. On the ground floor of the entrance facade, a shallow porch with four columns links the two bay windows, and a steep mansard roof with dormer windows is crowned by a grand octagonal cupola.

Hancock's architectural distinction and the natural beauty of its setting with ponds, streams, meadows, and forested hills have inevitably attracted many artists and artisans over the years. One of the most engaging was Moses Eaton Jr., who was born in Hancock, and, although he lived much of mature life in the neighboring towns of Harrisville and Dublin, he is buried in Pine Ridge Cemetery near his father, Moses Sr. (1753-1833). Moses Jr. enlivened many buildings in Hancock and other New England towns with cheerful and winsome stenciling (see Pl. XII). Janet Waring, who interviewed his descendants, wrote that after his marriage in 1835 Moses Jr. devoted himself largely to fanning, asserting that "his corn was rated the best in the countryside." (10) His stenciling kit, discovered by Waring in the attic of his Dublin house, contains eight brushes and seventyeight stencils that include stylized flowers and leaves, urns, swags with tassels, a pineapple, and a weeping willow. (11)

There is persuasive evidence that as a young man Eaton briefly collaborated with his multitalented contemporary. the muralist Rufus Porter. Born in West Boxford, Massachusetts, Porter was apprenticed in his early teens to a shoemaker, but he excelled at an amazing variety of trades. He played the fife for military assemblies and the violin for dancing parties. He was a journalist, editor, and publisher; an inventor who developed, among other devices, a corn sheller, a life preserver, a fire alarm, a cheese press, a fan blower, and a fog whistle. He cut silhouettes, was a prolific itinerant portrait painter, and somehow found the time and energy to father sixteen children. Porter is best known today for his vivacious and whimsical murals of New England scenery. Writing in 1841 in the New York Mechanic, he extolled the practicality of wall painting as opposed to wallpaper, since the latter "is apt to get torn off, and often affords behind it a resting place for various kinds of house insects." (12)