Newmarket Stories

As Newmarket approaches the 300th anniversary of becoming its own parish, from its 1727 separation from Exeter, we find ourselves looking at this milestone with a desire to preserve the memories, stories, and voices that shaped our town across multiple decades, not just the far distant past. In a time when communities everywhere grapple with rapid change, we felt it was important to capture some of Newmarket's recent history before it slipped away.

To do this, we turned to some of the people who know Newmarket best: long-time residents who have walked its streets, built its traditions, raised their families here, and lived through its transformations firsthand. We call them our “Narrators.” Their lives span eras of hardship and hope—years marked by economic shifts, world events, changes in local industry, and the everyday joys and challenges of small-town life.

We sat with 35 Narrators to listen, learn, and record their recollections, which took us into kitchens warmed by woodstoves, onto busy mill floors, and through neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone else. These interviews highlight not only personal stories but the identity of the town itself.

Whether recalling wartime fears, the rise and decline of the mills, family immigration stories, or the simple joys of gathering downtown on a Friday night, our Narrators remind us of this town's remarkable resilience, and its ongoing sense of a community drawn together.

This book is not a comprehensive history, nor is it meant to be one. It is a celebration of the people who have carried Newmarket forward and a way to strengthen the ties between past and present. This work offers today's residents, and future generations, an intimate look at critical decades in our town's history.

We are deeply grateful to the Narrators who shared their stories. Their generosity made this book possible. We also wish to acknowledge the organizations whose support helped bring this project to life: the New Market Historical Society, the New Hampshire Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Newmarket 250/300 Committee, and the Newmarket Business Association. Their commitment to preserving and celebrating local history continues to inspire us. I am extremely grateful to the members of our Newmarket Stories Team, Kris and John Carmichael, Patti Blanchette, and Michael Provost, who spent many hours interviewing the Narrators and writing up their stories, and to Tim Cremmen, who videotaped the interviews and created a documentary.

As we look ahead to Newmarket's tricentennial in 2027, we offer this book as a tribute: to the town, to its people, and to the stories of who we have been, who we are, and what we will continue to build.